[ABSTRACT] Introduction: Loneliness is a subjective unpleasant state related to a perceived deficit in social relationships (de Jong Gierveld, 1987). Among the factors predicting loneliness, the absence of an intimate relationship and social support are prevalent (Pinquart and Sörensen, 2001). Loneliness has very negative consequences in physical and mental health (Hawkley and Cacioppo, 2010). In patients with schizophrenia loneliness has been found to predict their subjective well-being in a n