Another problem is that the terms "loneliness" and "depression" harbor implicit
Causal theories. As Seeman (1983) pointed out in "Alienation Motifs in Contemporary Theorizing:
The Hidden Continuity of the Classic Themes" (see also Ch. 7, this volume), what was previously called alienation, a concept that emphasized social-structural determinants of human misery, tends today to be called loneliness or depression, terms that call attention to, if not place the blame on, individuals. When Durkheim (1897/1951) wrote out anomie and suicide, he emphasized societal forces that move a person toward meaningful integration into the activities of a community or toward meaningless isolation