Contact: Stacey Holliday, Concerned Women for America, 202-488-7000 ext. 126

WASHINGTON, June 23 /Christian Newswire/ -- Concerned Women for America (CWA) draws attention to a newly released General Social Survey by The National Science Foundation which includes face-to-face interviews that reveal an epidemic of loneliness in America.  In a startling statistic, the study reveals that the number of “socially isolated” Americans has doubled since 1985, with more than a quarter of U.S. citizens saying that there is no one with whom they can talk about their personal troubles.

Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse, Senior Fellow of CWA’s Beverly LaHaye Institute, noted, “The last 40 years have seen the percentage of persons living as unrelated individuals increase from 6 to 16 percent of all persons.”  She asked, “At what point does the tide of unrelatedness –– fed by waves of unrestrained, excitement-addicted, narcissistic individualism –– rise so high that it floods the societal levee upheld by the remnant that is grounded in the bonds of love and connectedness?”

Finally, Dr. Crouse states, “Our nation is reaping unprecedented prosperity accompanied, ironically, by a lack of connectedness.  We have enough wealth to ensure compassion and to pursue justice, but our lack of connectedness is withering both.”

The Census Bureau uses the term “unrelated individual” to designate someone who does not live in a “family group.”  Dr. Crouse says, “About 70 percent of those classified as “unrelated individuals” live alone –– no commitments bind them, no shared history bonds them with others.”

For complete information about trends toward loneliness, see Dr. Crouse’s report, Gaining Ground: A Profile of American Women in the Twentieth Century.

Concerned Women for America is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization.