I want to be alone..........
Genes may be to blame for loneliness
Chicago Sun-Times ^ | November 11, 2005 | Jim Ritter
Feeling lonely? Maybe it's not your fault. Loneliness might be in your genes.
A study concludes that 48 percent of the variations in loneliness among people is due to genetics. The rest of the variation is due to differing life circumstances, such as leaving home or losing a spouse.
"Feelings of loneliness may reflect an innate emotional response to stimulus conditions over which an individual may have little or no control," researchers wrote in the journal Behavior Genetics.
Researchers in the Netherlands and the University of Chicago examined surveys of 8,387 young adults in the Netherlands Twin Register. Fraternal and identical twins and their families responded to mailed surveys every two or three years. Twins were asked whether they agreed with such statements as "I feel lonely," "I like to be alone," "Nobody loves me," and "I try to have as little as possible to do with other people."
Thirty-five percent of the men and 50 percent of the women reported having moderate to extreme feelings of loneliness.
There probably is more than one loneliness gene, although no such gene has yet been identified, said U. of C. psychologist John Cacioppo, a co-author of the study. Loneliness genes, in combination with life circumstances, likely determine how much loneliness a person feels.
'Important for survival'
Earlier studies found that loneliness was increased by such circumstances as losing a spouse through divorce or death, going away to college, moving frequently and being an immigrant. An individual's loneliness genes determine to what extent such circumstance cause loneliness, Cacioppo said.
There may be an evolutionary reason for all this. People connect with one another to avoid the pain of loneliness. If every man and woman were an island, there would be no families and no one to take care of children.
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