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Feelings of loneliness could be genetic: study

Feeling lonely? It could be due to your genetic makeup.

A new study by Western University has found some people may be genetically prone to lonesome feelings and the insecurity and stress that psychologists call neuroticism.

“It does concern me because I think we’re getting more lonely as a society. We’re not having the same richness of interaction,” said study co-author Julie Aitken Schermer, a Western professor who specializes in personality differences and behaviour genetics. “For many young people, their friends are just clicks on buttons and fewer and fewer of them go beyond superficial, fleeting connections.”

Researchers examined 764 pairs of adult twins from Australia for the study, asking them a series of questions about their feelings of loneliness, isolation, and lack of companionship, as well as different personality factors. Twins are considered valuable research participants by scientists trying to gauge genetic and environmental influences.

While the study pointed to loneliness as being more than just a feeling for some, it also found it wasn't hard-wired in, meaning those with an isolated disposition can overcome it.

“If you have rich interactions with people, that’s an environmental component that would combat the genetic impact of loneliness,” said Schermer.

Face-to-face interactions with people or caring for a pet were listed among the ways Schermer said lonesome people could help shake the negative feeling.

According to the study, co-authored by Nicholas G. Martin from the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Australia, those whose personality traits include agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extroversion were less likely to identify themselves as ‘lonely.’

The study was recently published in the Journal of Research in Personality.

Schermer's past research found people who engage in self-deprecating humour are also more likely to be lonely.

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