This study explores the role of personality traits and attachment in loneliness in a sample of 371 Portuguese emerging adults (M = 22.21 years, SD = 3.29). Using a descriptivecorrelational methodology, an investigation protocol was designed and includes a sociodemographic questionnaire, the NEO-FFI-20 Personality Inventory, the Adult Attachment Scale (AAS) and the UCLA Loneliness Scale. The results obtained by the confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses demonstrate the robustness and suitability of the scales used. The results show an association between personality traits and loneliness, with only neuroticism correlating positively, r = .32, p < .001. There was also an association between attachment and loneliness, with only anxious attachment correlating positively, r = .55, p < .001. In terms of gender differences, the results point to statistically significant differences in neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, anxious and avoidant attachment and loneliness. Regression analyses indicated that most of the personality traits, with the exception of openness to experience, and all attachment styles are significant predictors of loneliness in Portuguese emerging adults. In addition, personality traits mediate the relationship between attachment and loneliness and attachment mediates the relationship between personality traits and loneliness. In Portuguese emerging adults, neuroticism, anxious attachment and being male are risk factors for loneliness.
Date of Award | 6 Jan 2025 |
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Original language | Portuguese |
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Awarding Institution | - Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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Supervisor | Diana Moreira (Supervisor) |
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- Personality
- Big five
- Attachment
- Loneliness
- Portuguese emerging adults
- Mestrado em Psicologia Clínica e da Saúde
Dinâmicas da transição para a vida adulta: o papel dos traços de personalidade e da vinculação na solidão em adultos emergentes portugueses
Antunes, C. D. S. (Student). 6 Jan 2025
Student thesis: Master's Thesis