Reciprocal Influences Between Loneliness and Self-Centeredness: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis in a Population-Based Sample of African American,Hispanic,and Caucasian Adults

Loneliness has been posited to increase the motivation to repair or replace deficient social relationships and,seemingly paradoxically,to increase the implicit motivation for self-preservation. in the current research,we report a cross-lagged panel analysis of 10 waves of longitudinal data (n = 229) on loneliness and self-centeredness (as gauged by feeney and collins’s measure of chronic self-focus) in a representative sample of middle-aged and older adults. as predicted by the proposition that loneliness increases the implicit motivation for self-preservation,loneliness in the current year predicts self-centeredness in the subsequent year beyond what is explained by current-year demographic variables,self-centeredness,depressive symptomatology,and overall negative mood. analyses also show that self-centeredness in the current year (net covariates) predicts loneliness in the subsequent year,a reciprocal relationship that could potentially contribute to the maintenance of loneliness. theoretical and practical implications are discussed. © 2017,© 2017 by the society for personality and social psychology,inc.