Being lonely makes you self-centred

LONELY people become increasingly self-centred in a vicious cycle that makes their loneliness worse, a study found.

Researchers discovered that highly self-centred people who focus only on their own thoughts and feelings are more likely to end up socially isolated.

John Cacioppo, of the University of Chicago, led a study of 229 people aged between 50 and 68 in which they were asked to rate their level of social interaction on a scale of one to four against statements such as ‘I lack companionship’ or ‘There are people I can talk to.’

Self-centredness was assessed in a similar way with statements that included ‘I can sometimes be a little self-centred’ and ‘I think about myself a lot’.

The researchers found that an increase in self-centred feelings led to higher loneliness, and vice versa.

Writing in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, they said selfcentredness is ‘a significant factor’ in loneliness and should be targeted by health professionals treating patients affected by social isolation.

Dr Cacioppo said: ‘If you get more selfcentred, you run the risk of staying locked in to feeling socially isolated.’