Accessible Friendships, Inclusive Friendships, Reciprocated Friendships As Related to Social and Emotional Loneliness in Greece and the USA

The participants, 128 Greek and 137 USA university women, listed the number of accessible friends-individuals who could be called upon to socialize in five different events-and the number of inclusive friends-those who would invite the subject to participate in the five events. Subjects completed the Revised Self-Monitoring Scale and Interpersonal Control Scale as well as three loneliness scales. Hypotheses were derived from suggestions of stronger collectivist norms in Greece than in the United States, meaning that friendship networks should be smaller but more reciprocated in Greece, and a lack of reciprocation should have greater effects upon loneliness in Greece than in the United States. The hypotheses were generally supported: The lack of a best friend was related to loneliness in Greece but not in the United States, and the lack of reciprocity between accessible and inclusive friendships was also more strongly related to loneliness in Greece. Perceived interpersonal control scores, but not self-monitoring scores, were significantly (negatively) related to loneliness in both countries.