LONELINESS IN MARRIAGE SCALE Gwenalle PhilibertLignires 1 2
LONELINESS IN MARRIAGE SCALE Gwenaëlle Philibert-Lignières 1, 2 and Ami Rokach Ph. D 1, 3 York University 1 , Mc. Gill University 2, Center for Academic Studies in Israel 3
THE LONELINESS IN MARRIAGE SCALE (LIMS): INTRO • Intimacy often protector against social isolation but not loneliness (Rokach & Sha’Ked, 2014) • Loneliness subjective experience of one’s perception of being emotionally isolated from others (Peplau & Perlman, 1982) • Loneliness and Intimacy If expectations to be cared for and feel intimately connected to one’s partner are not met, individuals can feel unwanted and rejected (L’Abate, 2011) • Negative outcomes Feelings of abandonment and rejection (Becvar, 2006)/ Loss of emotional and social support (Dykstra & de Jong -Grieveld, 2004)/ Divorce (Amato, 2000)
THE ‘LIMS’: RATIONALE OF THE STUDY • Marital therapy Loneliness is a recurrent theme • To best of our knowledge No instruments for specifically measuring whether people in intimate relationships experience loneliness as related to their relationship. • Validated tools to measure general loneliness: • UCLA-Loneliness Scale [ULS; Russell, Peplau, & Ferguson, 1978] • Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults [SELSA-Di. Tommasso & Spinner, 1993]
THE ‘LIMS’: DESCRIPTION • 24 items experience of loneliness and intimacy (e. g. I felt that I was not fulfilling my part in the relationship; I felt that I was taken for granted). • Likert-scale starting from 1 (Totally not describes my situation) to 6 (Totally describes my situation) • Final scores range from 24 to 150 the higher the score, the lonelier a person feels in their relationship. • The instructions are “to think about a specific time or period in which you felt lonely in a close relationship” and rate each statements based on what you felt or thought at that time. • The LIMS measures three different factors: detachment, hurt, and guilt • High internal consistency (α =. 96).
THE ‘LIMS’: 3 FACTORS • Hurt Factor • “I felt a deep sense of pain” • “I was very tense” • “I felt hurt” • Detachment Factor • “My husband/partner had no time for me” • “I felt that I was taken for granted” • “I wondered whether we are suitable” • Guilt Factor • “I felt that I was not fulfilling my part in the relationship” • “I felt guilty for my misdeeds in the marriage/relationships” • “I felt that I was not worthy of his love”
THE ‘LIMS’: OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY DEMOGRAPHIC DIFFERENCES • Examine potential differences in the experience of detachment, hurt, and guilt when feeling lonely in a relationship based on demographic variables • Gender, marital status, age • Hypothesis (based on literature): • Gender Female higher scores in all 3 factors (willingness to disclose personal information and admit feelings) • Marital status Single and separated individuals will have higher scores in the 3 factors (no intimacy to protect against feelings of loneliness) • Age Older individuals may have higher scores in the 3 factors (increased feelings of loneliness associated with increase in age)
THE ‘LIMS’: SAMPLE AND PROCEDURE SAMPLE PROCEDURE • General population and university students • Approved by York University’s research ethics board • Ontario and Quebec, Canada • Participants were asked to complete the LIMS via paper and pencil or online format + Demographic information questionnaire • 370 participants (females n=211) • 18 to 82 years old (M = 31. 96, SD = 13. 37) • 35% single, 32% married, 7% separated, and 26% currently in a relationship
THE ‘LIMS’: RESULTS-GENDER • MANOVA between the 3 factors (Hurt, Detachment, Guilt) and gender (Male, Female) • The dependent variables were significantly affected by gender • Hurt factor • Female respondents scored significantly higher on the Hurt factor [M = 3. 156, SD = 1. 465] than male respondents [M = 2. 709, SD = 1. 455]. • Detachment factor • Female respondents scored significantly higher on the Detachment factor [M = 3. 107, SD = 1. 1. 456] than male respondents [M = 2. 596, SD = 1. 207] • Guilt factor • No significant differences between sex of respondents and their score on the Guilt factor
THE ‘LIMS’: RESULTS-MARITAL STATUS • MANOVA between the 3 factors (Hurt, Detachment, Guilt) and Marital Status (single, in a relationship, married, separated) • The dependent variables was significantly affected by Marital Status • Hurt factor • Separated scored significantly higher in the Hurt factor [M = 4. 147, SD = 1. 611] than respondents identifying as single [M = 2. 926, SD = 1. 38] in a relationship [M = 2. 942, SD = 1. 412], and married [M = 2. 843, SD = 1. 483] • Detachment factor • Separated scored significantly higher on the Detachment factor [M = 3. 783, SD = 1. 559] than respondents who identified as single [M = 2. 941, SD = 1. 326], in a relationship [M = 2. 823, SD = 1. 227], or married [M = 2. 713, SD = 1. 449]. • Guilt factor • No significant differences between marital status of respondents and their score on the Guilt factor
THE ‘LIMS’: RESULTS-AGE • Age groups (based on Mc. Crae et al. 2000) • 18 -21(n=108); 22 -29 (n=103); 30 -49 (n=109); 50+ (n=50) years old • There was no significant differences on the experience of Hurt, Detachment, and Guilt based on the age of the participants. • Across the 4 different age groups, respondents experienced relatively similar feelings of Hurt, Detachment, and Guilt when they felt lonely in an intimate relationship.
THE ‘LIMS’: LIMITATIONS • More representative sample needed • Age Bigger ‘older’ sample • Marital Status Bigger ‘separated’ sample • Personal questions social desirability bias • Current marital status may not reflect marital status at a time the respondents felt lonely in a relationship • Guilt factor Nature of items reflect “taking the responsibility of negative outcomes” • Translation of the LIMS from Hebrew Revision of some of the terminology needed
THE ‘LIMS’: CONCLUSION • Pre-existing literature framed marriage and intimacy as a barrier against loneliness, more recent findings suggest that it is not necessarily the case • Understanding the effects of various factors (e. g. , sex, marital status, age) on the experience of detachment, hurt, and guilt, allows to better understand the nature of loneliness within intimate relationships. • Using instruments such as the LIMS can help therapists and clinicians evaluate feelings of loneliness, to ultimately develop and implement appropriate interventions to improve couples’ satisfaction, connectedness and intimacy.
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