Psychological Reports, 1990, 6 7 , 49-50.
O Psychological Reports 1990
LONELINESS A M O N G JAPANESE A N D AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS ' TRACY PEARL AND DONALD W. KLOPF West Virginia University SATOSHI ISHII Otsuma Women's Universiby Summary.-Both Japanese and American college students (ns = loo), away from home at their f i s t year in college, showed high scores on the Differential Loneliness Scale, with Japanese students scoring higher on all subscales.
Loneliness is a common social phenomenon experienced by almost everyone at some time or other (4). Those who are chronically lonely are thought to lack communication skills and are apprehensive about communicating (2). Apprehensive communicators are likely to be communicatively incompetent, and they tend to emit signals suggesting they are not interested in interacting with others (7). Their social isolation increases their communicative difficulties because they Iack practice (6). Loneliness results. TABLE 1 LONELINESS COMPARISON OF JAPANESE AND AMERICANS BY CATEGORY
R~mantic/Sexud Japanese American Family Japanese American Friendship Japanese American Community Japanese American *p< ,001.
This study assessed whether Japanese, perceived as reluctant communicators (3)) are lonely as well. To find out, Japanese were compared to Americans on the Differential Loneliness Scale (9,one based on a conceptual model of loneliness, identifying felt dissatisfactions with four rela'Address correspondence to D. W. Klopf, Department of Communication Studies, West Virginia University, 130 Armstrong Hall, Morgancown, WV 26506.
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T. PEARL, ET AL.
tionships: romantic/sexual, friendship, family, and community. One hundred Japanese representing three Tokyo universities and 100 Americans from West Virginia University took part. Both groups were similar in age, sex, and year in school. The t ratios, shown in Table 1, indicate that the Japanese are more lonely in romantic/sexual, family, friendship, and community relationships than are Americans; however, both groups show high loneliness. A probable reason for this is advanced by Duck (I), who stresses that loneliness arises when people are forced to be alone w d l y d y . H e illustrates his point with college students. Students typically report feeling lonely soon after they arrive at the university. They are in a new environment devoid of neighborhood friends, family, and familiar surroundings. Both the Japanese and American college student sample were away from home for the first time. REFERENCES 1. DUCK,S. (1986) Human relotionships: an introduction to social psychology. London: Sage. J. E., & GOSWICK,R. A. (1981) The persistence of loneliness: self 2. JONES, W. H., FREEMON, and other determinants. Journal of Pu~onaliiy,49, 27-48. D. W. (1984) Cross-cultural apprehension research: a summary of Pacific Basin 3. KLOPF, studies. In J. A. Daly & J. C. McCroskey (Eds.), Avoiding communication. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. D. (1982) Loneliness: a sourcebook of current theory, research G 4. PEPLAU,L. A,, & PERLMAN, therapy. New York: Wiley. 5. SEMAT,V., & SMYTH, M. (1973) Content analysis of verbal communication and the development of a relationship: conditions influencing self-discipline. Journal of Personali~and Social Psychology, 26, 332-346. 6 . ZAKAHI, W., & DURAN,R. (1982) All lonely people: the relationship among loneliness, communicative competence and communication anxiety. Communication Quarterly, 30, 203-209. 7. ZAKAHI,W., & DURAN,R. (1985) Loneliness, communication competence and communication apprehension: extension and replication. Communication Quarterly, 33, 50-60. Accepted June 25, 1990.
O Psychological Reports 1990
LONELINESS A M O N G JAPANESE A N D AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS ' TRACY PEARL AND DONALD W. KLOPF West Virginia University SATOSHI ISHII Otsuma Women's Universiby Summary.-Both Japanese and American college students (ns = loo), away from home at their f i s t year in college, showed high scores on the Differential Loneliness Scale, with Japanese students scoring higher on all subscales.
Loneliness is a common social phenomenon experienced by almost everyone at some time or other (4). Those who are chronically lonely are thought to lack communication skills and are apprehensive about communicating (2). Apprehensive communicators are likely to be communicatively incompetent, and they tend to emit signals suggesting they are not interested in interacting with others (7). Their social isolation increases their communicative difficulties because they Iack practice (6). Loneliness results. TABLE 1 LONELINESS COMPARISON OF JAPANESE AND AMERICANS BY CATEGORY
R~mantic/Sexud Japanese American Family Japanese American Friendship Japanese American Community Japanese American *p< ,001.
This study assessed whether Japanese, perceived as reluctant communicators (3)) are lonely as well. To find out, Japanese were compared to Americans on the Differential Loneliness Scale (9,one based on a conceptual model of loneliness, identifying felt dissatisfactions with four rela'Address correspondence to D. W. Klopf, Department of Communication Studies, West Virginia University, 130 Armstrong Hall, Morgancown, WV 26506.
50
T. PEARL, ET AL.
tionships: romantic/sexual, friendship, family, and community. One hundred Japanese representing three Tokyo universities and 100 Americans from West Virginia University took part. Both groups were similar in age, sex, and year in school. The t ratios, shown in Table 1, indicate that the Japanese are more lonely in romantic/sexual, family, friendship, and community relationships than are Americans; however, both groups show high loneliness. A probable reason for this is advanced by Duck (I), who stresses that loneliness arises when people are forced to be alone w d l y d y . H e illustrates his point with college students. Students typically report feeling lonely soon after they arrive at the university. They are in a new environment devoid of neighborhood friends, family, and familiar surroundings. Both the Japanese and American college student sample were away from home for the first time. REFERENCES 1. DUCK,S. (1986) Human relotionships: an introduction to social psychology. London: Sage. J. E., & GOSWICK,R. A. (1981) The persistence of loneliness: self 2. JONES, W. H., FREEMON, and other determinants. Journal of Pu~onaliiy,49, 27-48. D. W. (1984) Cross-cultural apprehension research: a summary of Pacific Basin 3. KLOPF, studies. In J. A. Daly & J. C. McCroskey (Eds.), Avoiding communication. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. D. (1982) Loneliness: a sourcebook of current theory, research G 4. PEPLAU,L. A,, & PERLMAN, therapy. New York: Wiley. 5. SEMAT,V., & SMYTH, M. (1973) Content analysis of verbal communication and the development of a relationship: conditions influencing self-discipline. Journal of Personali~and Social Psychology, 26, 332-346. 6 . ZAKAHI, W., & DURAN,R. (1982) All lonely people: the relationship among loneliness, communicative competence and communication anxiety. Communication Quarterly, 30, 203-209. 7. ZAKAHI,W., & DURAN,R. (1985) Loneliness, communication competence and communication apprehension: extension and replication. Communication Quarterly, 33, 50-60. Accepted June 25, 1990.
