An exploratory study of loneliness as exprerienced by HIV/AIDS and cancer patients and the general population

The pain of loneliness is a universal social phenomenon producing debilitat ing effects an many aspects of human functioning. The present study compare d the experience of loneliness of two terminally ill populations to that of the general population. Thirty-eight cancer patients, 43 HIV/AIDS patients and 53 subjects from the general population answered a 30-item questionnai re. Results indicated that the experience of loneliness that characterizes HIV/AIDS patients differs from that of both cancer patients and subjects in the general population. Secondly, cancer patients and subjects from the ge neral population did not differ significantly in their experience of loneli ness.