Level of Loneliness and Separation-Individuation Process Among People With Intellectual Disabilities and Mental Disorders

Abstract

The present article aims to describe the relations between the separation-individuation process and the level of experienced loneliness among people (over 18 years old) with intellectual disability and mental disorders. The clinical sample consists of 33 people with mild and moderate intellectual disability and 30 people with schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder. They were tested with The University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLA Loneliness Scale, Version 3 and Separation – Individuation Process Inventory. The results show that the values of both variables (level of loneliness and separation-individuation) in both groups of respondents are above the average of the norm. Moreover, between the two variables exists directly proportional causal relationship, i.e. problems in the process of separation-individuation leads to higher levels of loneliness.

Language: Bulgarian