This thesis considers the nature and impact of social change on Kuwaiti Society. It begins by giving a detailed account of the origins of Kuwait Society and its economic, political and social structure before the exploitation of the country's enormous oil resources. This is followed by an equally detailed discussion of the changes in the economic, political and social structure that followed the development of the oil resources. Finally, in the first section, the major changes are outlined and the question is posed as to what effect these changes are likely to have on the values and attitudes of the population of the country. The second section begins with a consideration of some of the problems of measuring potential alienation in a society such as Kuwait and reviews some of the major problems of isolating and defining the relevant concepts. The general conclusion is that the micro-social psychological approach to the problem adopted by American social psychologists in the 1960's is the more fruitful way forward. Using the scales of Struening and Richardson levels of alienation in Kuwait are then measured and the results given. Finally, by the application of new scales specifically developed for this study the major dimensions of alienation are related to the particularities of the social structure of modern Kuwait. The conclusion considers the problems of mounting such an investigation in Kuwait, the substantive findings of the study and it indicates future research possibilities.