Americans circle of close confidants has shrunk dramatically in the past two decades but the number of people who say they【M1】______ have no one with whom to discuss important matters has more than doubled, according to a new study by sociologists at Duke University and the University of Arizona ' The evidence shows that Americans have more confidants and those ties are also more【M2】______ family-based than they are used to be,' said Lynn Smith-Lovin,【M3】______ Professor of Sociology at Duke University and one of the studys authors of Social Isolation in America: Changes in Core Discussion Networks Over Two Decades. The study compared data from 1985 to 2004 and found which【M4】______ the mean number of people with whom Americans can discuss matters important to them dropped by nearly one-third, from 2.94 people in 1985 to 2.08 in 2004. The study paints a picture of Americans social contacts a 'densely connected, close,【M5】______ homogeneous set of ties slowly closing in on themselves,【M6】______ becoming smaller, more tightly interconnected, more focusing on【M7】______ the very strong bonds of the nuclear family.' That means less contacts created through clubs, neighbors and【M8】______ organizations outside the home—a phenomenon popularly known as ' bowling lonely,' from the 2000 book of the same title by【M9】______ Robert D. Putnam. The researchers speculated that changes in communities and families, such as the increase in a number of【M10】______ hours that family members spend at work and the influence of Internet communication, may contribute to the decrease in the size of close-knit circles of friends and relatives. 【M1】