Undesirable social relations as risk factors for loneliness among 14-year-olds in the UK: Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study

In the current study, data collected from Wave 6 of the Millennium Cohort Study (n = 11,872), a nationally representative sample survey of youth aged 14 years in the UK, are used to examine the prevalence of loneliness among this age-group, investigate the feelings associated with the experience of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of behavioral development Vol. 46; no. 1; pp. 3 - 9
Main Authors Yang, Keming, Petersen, Kimberly J., Qualter, Pamela
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.01.2022
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Adolescents
Age groups
At Risk Persons
Bullying
Cohort analysis
Coping
Correlation
Early Adolescents
Emotional Response
Ethnicity
Foreign Countries
Friendship
Gender Differences
Incidence
Loneliness
Millennium
Parent Child Relationship
Place of Residence
Psychological Patterns
Racial Differences
Risk factors
Social experiences
Social Influences
Social relations
Social support
Social Support Groups
Sociodemographics
Sociological aspects
Youth
United Kingdom
United Kingdom > UK
Loneliness
prevalence
Millennium Cohort Study (MCS)
adolescents
UK
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Summary:In the current study, data collected from Wave 6 of the Millennium Cohort Study (n = 11,872), a nationally representative sample survey of youth aged 14 years in the UK, are used to examine the prevalence of loneliness among this age-group, investigate the feelings associated with the experience of loneliness among youth, explore the risk factors for loneliness among young people, and learn how they coped with loneliness. Given recent findings that youth are vulnerable to loneliness, the study assesses the prevalence of loneliness among adolescents across some important sociodemographic characteristics, such as nation of residence, gender, and ethnicity. We also identify the kinds of social experiences that accompany loneliness during adolescence, exploring friendship, relations with parents, social support, and bullying. Our key finding is that, in addition to the absence of desired social relationships, which has been typically identified as the ultimate source of loneliness, the presence of undesirable and even harmful social relationships is a major source of loneliness. This study uniquely brings together psychological and sociological perspectives to understand the experience of youth loneliness.
ISSN:0165-0254
1464-0651
DOI:10.1177/0165025420965737