All the lonely people: The relationship among loneliness, communicative competence, and communication anxiety

Abstract

This paper reports research which examines the relationship of loneliness with communication variables. The study examines the relationship between loneliness, communication anxiety, and communicative competence. Statistical analysis reveals two types of loneliness ‐lack of an intimate (romantic or particularly close) relationship (intimate other) and lack of a group or network of friends (social network). Two dimensions of communicative competence significantly predict loneliness, communication apprehension makes no contribution to the model. Canonical correlation reveals a significant relationship between the communicative competence dimension, social experience, and the lack of a social network. Future research issues regarding the study of loneliness are presented.