Loneliness genetic but not hardwired, study finds

New research out of Western University has found a genetic component to loneliness but it's not hardwired. Those are among the findings of a study that involved 764 pairs of adult twins.

Dr. Julie Aitken Schermer is a professor of management and organizational studies. She specializes in personality and behaviour genetics.

"I'm concerned that as a society we're actually getting lonelier," said Aitken Schermer about her interest in the topic.

She was particularly moved when the government in the United Kingdom established a Minister of Loneliness. While that was focussed primarily on older people, Aitken Schermer is seeing a spike in loneliness among younger people.

"By looking at the heritability of loneliness, then we can see whether or not genes are having an influence, if they're interacting with their environment, can we exacerbate loneliness sensations."

Thirty-five per cent of the variance in loneliness has a genetic component said Aitken Schermer. Individuals, therefore, are more likley to express loneliness if their environment encourages it.

"Conversley, you inherit your height from your parents but if you're deprived of proper nutrition you'll never maximize your height potential," she said.

Silence vs. rich interactions

Aitken Schermer is concerned people are feeding their genetic propensity forloneliness by not interacting with others on a face-to-face basis. Instead they're makingfleeting social connections through the click of a button on a smart phone or computer.

It's behaviour she sees everywhere, including in her classrooms.

"Students ten years ago would talk to each other before the lecture began. They would interact and make friends," Aitken Schermer said. "Now I walk into the classroom before a lecture and it's silent because everybody's looking at their cell phones or their lap top and clicking away."

Her recommendation is to engage with other people.

"If you have rich interactions with people, that's an environmental impact that would combat the genetic impact of loneliness," she said.