Loneliness and Suicidal Behavior: A Meta-Analysis

Dedara Hosiana Kandou, Firmanto Adi Nurcahyo
(Submitted 2 July 2024)
(Published 25 June 2025)

Abstract


Loneliness is an emotional condition that humans experience as social beings, which can be felt physically and psychologically. Loneliness can have a negative impact on mental health, e.g., causing a sense of isolation, stress, depression, and the development of suicidal tendencies. Several studies have shown variations in the correlation results between loneliness and suicidal behavior. This study aimed to analyze the correlation between loneliness and suicidal behavior across 19 studies (2015–2024) through a meta-analysis. This study used two artifacts, namely sampling and measurement errors. The results of the meta-analysis based on sampling error resulted in a correlation of 0.45, and a correlation of 0.51 was found when accounting for measurement error. The magnitude of the correlation indicates a moderate relationship. Positive correlation results suggest that loneliness can contribute to the emergence of suicidal behavior.

Keywords


loneliness; suicidal behaviour; meta-analysis

Full Text: PDF

DOI: 10.22146/buletinpsikologi.97796

References


Ainunnida, K. A. (2022). Hubungan kesepian dan ide bunuh diri yang dimoderasi oleh depresi pada remaja korban perceraian orang tua [The relationship between loneliness and suicidal ideation moderated by depression in adolescents of divorced parents]. Jurnal Ilmu Psikologi dan Kesehatan (SIKONTAN), 1(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.47353/sikontan.v1i1.194

Akram, U., Irvine, K., Gardani, M., Allen, S., Akram, A., & Stevenson, J. C. (2023). Prevalence of anxiety, depression, mania, insomnia, stress, suicidal ideation, psychotic experiences, & loneliness in UK university students. Scientific Data, 10(1), 621. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02520-5

Astuti, Y. D. (2019). Kesepian dan ide bunuh diri di kalangan tenaga kerja Indonesia [Loneliness and suicidal ideation among Indonesian workers]. PSIKOLOGIKA: Jurnal Pemikiran dan Penelitian Psikologi, 24(1), 35–58. https://journal.uii.ac.id/Psikologika/article/view/14083

Atika, A., Machmud, A., & Suwatno, S. (2020). Blended learning terhadap hasil belajar di era COVID-19: Pendekatan meta-analisis [Blended learning on learning outcomes in the COVID-19 era: A meta-analysis approach]. Jurnal Basicedu, 4(4), 919–926. https://doi.org/10.31004/basicedu.v4i4.488

Bennardi, M., Caballero, F. F., Miret, M., Ayuso-Mateos, J. L., Haro, J. M., Lara, E., Arensman, E., & Cabello, M. (2019). Longitudinal relationships between positive affect, loneliness, and suicide ideation: Age-specific factors in a general population. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 49(1), 90–103. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12424

Borenstein, M., Hedges, L. V., Higgins, J. P. T., & Rothstein, H. R. (2009). Introduction to meta-analysis. John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470743386

Cacioppo, J. T., & Patrick, W. (2008). Loneliness: Human nature and the need for social connection. W. W. Norton & Company. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2008-07755-000

Cauberghe, V., Van Wesenbeeck, I., De Jans, S., Hudders, L., & Ponnet, K. (2021). How adolescents use social media to cope with feelings of loneliness and anxiety during COVID-19 lockdown. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, 24(4), 250–257. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2020.0478

Cao, Q., Xu, X., Xiang, H., Yang, Y., Peng, P., & Xu, S. (2020). Bullying victimization and suicidal ideation among Chinese left-behind children: Mediating effect of loneliness and moderating effect of gender. Children and Youth Services Review, 111, Article 104848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104848

Chen, Y.-L., Jian, C.-R., Chang, Y.-P., Chao, S.-R., & Yen, C.-F. (2023). Association of loneliness with suicide risk and depression in individuals with schizophrenia: Moderating effects of self-esteem and perceived support from families and friends. Schizophrenia, 9(1), 41. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41537-023-00368-7

Ellis, P. D. (2010). The essential guide to effect sizes: Statistical power, meta-analysis, and the interpretation of research results (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511761676

Eser, M. T. (2022). A survey study for the comparison of meta-analysis softwares. Bartın University Journal of Faculty of Education, 11(1), 17–30. https://doi.org/10.14686/buefad.747948

Forkmann, T., Glaesmer, H., Paashaus, L., Rath, D., Schönfelder, A., Stengler, K., Juckel, G., Assion, H.-J., & Teismann, T. (2020). Interpersonal theory of suicide: Prospective examination. BJPsych Open, 6(5), e113. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2020.93
Hamzah, V. D. S., & Triwahyuni, A. (2023). Kesepian sebagai faktor prediktif ide bunuh diri di kalangan mahasiswa: Studi pada mahasiswa Universitas Padjadjaran selama pandemi Covid-19 [Loneliness as a predictor factor of suicidal ideation among college students: A study of Padjadjaran University students during the COVID-19 pandemic]. MEDIAPSI, 9(2), 85–97. https://doi.org/10.21776/ub.mps.2023.009.02.894

Hilda, D., & Tobing, D. L. (2021). Hubungan kesepian dengan ide bunuh diri pada remaja di panti sosial asuhan anak Putra Utama 3 Jakarta [The relationship between loneliness and suicidal ideation in adolescents at Putra Utama 3 social orphanage, Jakarta]. Jurnal Profesi Keperawatan (JPK), 8(2), Article 2.

Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (2015). Methods of meta-analysis: Correcting error and bias in research findings (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483398105

Joiner, T. (2005). Why people die by suicide. Harvard University Press. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-06716-000

Liem, A., Prawira, B., Magdalena, S., Siandita, M. J., & Hudiyana, J. (2022). Predicting self-harm and suicide ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia: A nationwide survey report. BMC Psychiatry, 22(1), 304. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-022-03944-w

Niu, L., Jia, C., Ma, Z., Wang, G., Yu, Z., & Zhou, L. (2018). The validity of proxy-based data on loneliness in suicide research: A case-control psychological autopsy study in rural China. BMC Psychiatry, 18, 116. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-018-1687-x

Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., & Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71

Retnawati, H., Apino, E., Kartianom, Djidu, H., & Anazifa, R. D. (2018). Pengantar analisis meta [Introduction to meta-analysis]. Parama Publishing. https://staffnew.uny.ac.id/upload/132255129/pendidikan/Ch1-2%20Pengantar%20Analisis%20Meta.pdf

Rice, S. M., Kealy, D., Ogrodniczuk, J. S., Seidler, Z. E., Montaner, G., Chambers, S., & Oliffe, J. L. (2021). The anxiety depression pathway among men following a prostate cancer diagnosis: Cross-sectional interactions between anger responses and loneliness. American Journal of Men’s Health, 15(3), 15579883211023699. https://doi.org/10.1177/15579883211023699

Rinaldi, M. R. (2021). Kesepian pada mahasiswa selama pandemi COVID-19 di Indonesia [Loneliness among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia]. Jurnal Psikologi Teori Dan Terapan, 11(3), 267–277. https://doi.org/10.26740/jptt.v11n3.p267-277

Russell, D. W., & Pang, Y. C. (2016). Loneliness. In V. Zeigler-Hill & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of personality and individual differences (pp. 1–3). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1085-1

Russell, D. W. (1996). UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): Reliability, validity, and factor structure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 66(1), 20–40. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa6601_2

Kim, S. M., Jeong, Y. M., Park, H. S., et al. (2023). Mental health of South Korean adolescents in the COVID-19 era: Web-based survey focused on suicide-related factors. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 17, 117. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-023-00658-z

Saputri, B. (2020). Hubungan kesepian dengan risiko bunuh diri pada lansia di Desa Plembutan Kecamatan Playen Kabupaten Gunung Kidul [The relationship between loneliness and suicide risk in the elderly in Plembutan Village, Playen District, Gunung Kidul] [Undergraduate thesis, Universitas 'Aisyiyah Yogyakarta]. http://digilib.unisayogya.ac.id/id/eprint/4925

Shaw, R. J., Cullen, B., Graham, N., Lyall, D. M., Mackay, D., Okolie, C., Pearsall, R., Ward, J., John, A., & Smith, D. J. (2021). Living alone, loneliness and lack of emotional support as predictors of suicide and self-harm: A nine-year follow up of the UK Biobank cohort. Journal of Affective Disorders, 279, 316–323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.10.026

Strizhitskaya, O., & Murtazina, I. (2024). Moderation effects of autonomy and personal growth on the association of sociotropy and different types of loneliness. Social Sciences, 13(8), 388. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13080388

Wahidiah, N., & Rahman, U. (2021). Meta analisis pengaruh self regulated learning terhadap hasil belajar matematika peserta didik [Meta-analysis of the effect of self-regulated learning on students' mathematics learning outcomes]. Alauddin Journal of Mathematics Education, 3(2), 182–192. https://doi.org/10.24252/ajme.v3i2.25341

Wang, R., Yang, Y., Li, Y., Liu, Y., Zhao, X., Jia, J., & Su, Y. (2021). Social support moderates suicidal ideation among Chinese nursing home residents with limited activities of daily living and loneliness. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 35(6), 638–644. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2021.07.008

Wenzel, A., Brown, G. K., & Beck, A. T. (2009). Cognitive therapy for suicidal patients: Scientific and clinical applications. American Psychological Association. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1chrxp6

World Health Organization. (2021). Social isolation and loneliness. https://www.who.int/teams/social-determinants-of-health/demographic-change-and-healthy-ageing/social-isolation-and-loneliness

World Health Organization. (2024). Suicide. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/suicide

Xu, S., Qiu, D., Hahne, J., Zhao, M., & Hu, M. (2018). Psychometric properties of the short-form UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-8) among Chinese adolescents. Medicine, 97(38), e12373. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000012373


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.




Copyright (c) 2025 Buletin Psikologi

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.