The effect of loneliness on depression: A meta-analysis

Negative emotions, which have a common, chronic and recurrent structure, play a vital role in the development and maintenance of psychopathology. In this study, loneliness as a negative emotion was considered to be a predisposing factor in depression.The aim of this meta-analysis is to determine the effect of loneliness on depression.Initially, a literature scan was performed and all related literature was pooled together ( n = 531). Based on scales determined by the researchers, it was decided to include 88 studies in the analysis. This study obtained a sampling group of 40,068 individuals.The results of using a random effects model for analysis showed that loneliness had a moderately significant effect on depression. None of the variables of study sampling group, type of publication and publication year were found to be moderator variables.According to the results of the research, loneliness may be said to be a significant variable affecting depression. The findings obtained are discussed in light of the literature.