The effects of perceived social support on loneliness

Abstract

The principal objective of this research is to test the effects of perceived social support on loneliness with various age-dependent respondents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample is made up of 442 respondents (41% male), who are arranged into five age categories: up to 25, 26-35, 36-45, 46-55, over 55 years old. These subsamples are administered according to the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell et al., 1980) and The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet et al., 1988), which measures perceived social support from three sources - family, friends, and significant other. The results of regression analysis show that in all five models the perceived support of a friend is a statistically significant negative predictor of loneliness, while the perceived support of family is a significant negative predictor of loneliness with respondents up to 25, from 36 to 45 and over 55. Support of significant other is a statistically significant negative predictor only in the sample of respondents from 46 to 55 years old. Results show that a significant predictor of loneliness for respondents of a specific age category is the sense of support from a person who is largely not fulfilling that role.