The peculiarities of loneliness experienced by young adults with experience of abuse in childhood

Physical and psychological abuse experienced during childhood significantly alters the trajectory of cognitive and personal development, shaping the way we perceive social situations and experience loneliness through the formation of early maladaptive patterns and cognitive distortions.
Objective. The study of the experience of subjective loneliness among young adults who have suffered abuse in childhood.
Methods and materials. The study involved 90 young adults (mean age – 20.8+4.2 years, 53% of women), who differ in their experience of abuse. The following methods were used: “Methodology for diagnosing the level of subjective loneliness”, “Loneliness experience Questionnaire”, “Cognitive Mistakes Questionnaire, CMQ”, “Young Schema Questionnaire, YSQ-S3R”, “Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, CTQ-SF”.
Results. Young adults who experienced psychological and physical abuse during childhood exhibit a significantly higher level of subjective loneliness compared to their peers who did not experience such traumatic events. A qualitative difference in the structure of correlations between different aspects of loneliness, early maladaptive patterns, and cognitive distortions has been identified, depending on the specific type of abuse that was experienced in childhood.
Conclusions. The experience of subjective loneliness in adulthood is closely linked to the type of abuse experienced during childhood. These patterns can be used to create specialized medical and psychological counseling programs for young adults who have been through abuse, in order to help them overcome the negative effects of subjective loneliness.

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