Loneliness in Early Adulthood: The Roles of Self-Esteem and Locus of Control

Abstract

The study investigated the relationship between self-esteem, locus of control, and loneliness in Early Adulthood (18- 35 yrs). A sample of 60 participants (31 males and 29 females) was selected through convenience sampling. Three different measures were used for data analysis. The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Pettijohn Locus of Control scale were administered to each subject individually. The results revealed significant negative correlation between self-esteem and feelings of loneliness (r = 0.70, p<0.001) and also between locus of control and loneliness (r = 0.56, p<0.001). On the contrary, there’s a positive correlation between self-esteem and locus of control (r = 0.67, p<0.001). In the study, regression analysis demonstrated that self-esteem accounts for a substantial 49.1% of the variability in loneliness. The low p-value (p<.0001) confirmed the rejection of the null hypothesis, highlighting the significant impact of self-esteem on loneliness. Additionally, a significant negative relationship was established between locus of control and loneliness (R²=0.3197), with an R² value of 32% indicating its explanatory power. The low p-value (p<.0001) in this case also rejected the null hypothesis, underscoring the impact of locus of control, albeit with less influence compared to self-esteem. Furthermore, in a multiple regression analysis, self-esteem (t= -4.642, p<0.01) emerged as a significant predictor of loneliness, while locus of control (t= -1.33, p= 0.189) did not significantly contribute to the model. The findings also revealed no significant difference in loneliness based on age and gender of the subjects.