Are Social Anxiety and Loneliness Best Conceptualized as a Unitary Trait?

Social anxiety and loneliness are traits that have been studied extensively and independently. This is surprising given that the two lines of empirical research have produced almost identical findings, particularly those related to underlying mechanisms. Given the growing interest in both constructs, foundational research is needed to examine the tacit, untested assumption that the traits are distinct from each other, as well as from depression, another trait with established social correlates. Accordingly, an exploratory factor analysis and subsequent confirmatory factor analysis were conducted on two samples of 493 participants to evaluate one- (social anxiety-loneliness-depression), two- (social anxiety-loneliness, and depression), and three-factor models (social anxiety, loneliness, and depression) of these constructs. Results supported the three-factor model, indicating the three traits are best conceptualized as related, but distinct. These findings raise questions about the degree of overlapping findings between social anxiety and loneliness in current literature. Future directions are discussed.