Loneliness and marital adjustment of Turkish couples

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship betwee n loneliness and marital adjustment in Turkish couples. Some demographic co rrelates of loneliness and marital adjustment such as Sender, age, duration of the marriage, type of marriage, and degree of acquaintance before marri age were also examined. The UCLA Loneliness Scale (D. Russell, L. A. Peplau , & C. E. Cutrona, 1980) and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (G. B. Spanier, 19 76) were administered to 58 heterosexual married couples. The results showe d that loneliness was significantly and negatively correlated with marital adjustment. For the demographic correlates, significant results were as fol lows: Self-selected marriages resulted in lower loneliness scores and highe r marital adjustment scores than the arranged type of marriage, and marital adjustment increased parallel to an increase in the degree of acquaintance before marriage. The findings and implications are discussed in the contex t of practice and research.