Editorial Perspective: How can we develop effective and timely interventions for young people with chronic loneliness?

Loneliness is an adaptive experience evolved to create motivation to engage in social relationships. However, for some young people, loneliness can become chronic which can have serious negative health consequences. Despite this, there is a relative lack of evidence for interventions.

A systematic review of longitudinal risk and protective factors for loneliness in youth.

To effectively tackle loneliness in youth, prevention and intervention strategies should be based on solid evidence regarding risk and protective factors in this age group. This systematic literature review identifies and narratively synthesizes longitudinal studies of risk and protective factors for loneliness in children and adolescents aged below 25 years. A systematic literature search was conducted in October 2023 using PsycINFO and MEDLINE, resulting in n = 398 articles, with n = 105 articles meeting the inclusion criteria.

Loneliness and teacher-student relationships in children and adolescents: Multilevel cross-cultural meta-analyses of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.

This study synthesized the literature from international and Chinese databases regarding the associations between loneliness and the quality of affective teacher-student relationships (TSRs) among children and adolescents ages 5.34-17.09 years.

Exploring how children and adolescents talk about coping strategies relating to loneliness using reflexive thematic analysis: a qualitative study.

Introduction: The prevailing view is that loneliness predominantly affects older adults. However, awareness of high rates of loneliness among younger populations is growing, prompting a call for interventions. The current study aimed to listen to the voices of young people regarding how they cope with loneliness, gaining a better understanding of how to then develop tailored interventions.

The Influence of Loneliness on Pain Outcomes for Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Background: Loneliness, the perception that one's social relationships do not meet the desire for social connection, is a risk factor for poor mental and physical health. Adolescents with chronic pain experience higher rates of peer loneliness which persists over time. Previous studies used a single loneliness measure, limiting our understanding of the nature of their loneliness.