Loneliness, positive life events, and psychological maladjustment: When good things happen, even lonely people feel better!

• Examined loneliness and positive life events in psychological maladjustment.
• Beyond loneliness, positive events predicted depression, hopelessness, and suicidal behaviors.
• Experiences of positive life events buffered the loneliness–maladjustment link.

The present study investigated loneliness and positive life events as predictors of psychological maladjustment (viz., depression, hopelessness, & suicidal behaviors) in a sample of 327 adults. Beyond the expected role of loneliness in psychological maladjustment, positive life events were found to further augment the prediction of depression, hopelessness, and suicidal behaviors. In addition, the presence of positive life events was found to buffer the positive association between loneliness and maladjustment. Specifically, the positive association between loneliness and psychological maladjustment was found to be weaker for those who experienced a high number of positive life events, as opposed to those who experienced a low number of positive life events. Some implications for helping adults perceive or appreciate the presence of positive events in their lives are discussed.