Offence type and the experience of loneliness

This study compared the experience of loneliness of criminals to that of th e general population. The heterogeneous criminal population was divided int o five more homogeneous subgroups whose loneliness experience wets compared . These were sex offenders. violent offenders, property offenders, drug rel ated offenders, and a category that contained all other miscellaneous offen ces. Three hundred fifty-six incarcerated male offenders and 501 males from the general population volunteered to answer an 82-item yes/no questionnai re. The questionnaire was composed of five subscales: Emotional Distress, S ocial Inadequacy and Alienation, Growth and Discovery Interpersonal Isolati on, and Self-Alienation. Results indicated significant differences between the loneliness experience of criminals and the general population, as well as amongst the criminal subgroups.