AI Article Synopsis
- The study explored how loneliness changes as adolescents grow up (ages 9-21) and its impact on their mental health.
- Researchers identified three patterns of loneliness: "stable low," "high decreasing," and "low increasing," with the majority experiencing stable low loneliness.
- Higher loneliness levels in adolescence linked to increased risks of depression, lower self-esteem, and for those with "low increasing" loneliness, higher anxiety in young adulthood.
- Overall, the findings suggest that loneliness during teenage years can lead to significant mental health challenges later on.
Article Abstract
The present study examined the relationship between developmental patterns of loneliness and psychosocial functioning among adolescents (9-21 years; = 110, 52% male). Four-wave longitudinal data were obtained from the Nijmegen Longitudinal Study (NLS) on Infant and Child Development. Loneliness was measured at 9, 13, 16, and 21 years of age and anxiety, depression and self-esteem at 9 and 21 years of age. Using k-means cluster analysis, three trajectories of loneliness were identified as "stable low" (56% of the subjects), "high decreasing" (22% of the subjects), and "low increasing" (22% of the subjects). Importantly, trajectories of loneliness across adolescence significantly predicted psychosocial functioning in young adulthood. Both the "high-decreasing" and "low-increasing" loneliness clusters were associated with higher risk of depression and lower self-esteem compared to the "stable low" loneliness cluster. The "low-increasing" loneliness cluster was associated with higher risk of anxiety compared to the "stable low" loneliness cluster. These results indicate that loneliness in adolescence is a vulnerability that manifests itself in higher levels of anxiety and depression and lower self-esteem in young adulthood.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8278473 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.689913 | DOI Listing |
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