The developmental course of loneliness in adolescence: Implications for mental health, educational attainment, and psychosocial functioning.

ABSTRACT: The present study examined patterns of stability and change in loneliness across adolescence. Data were drawn from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a UK population-representative cohort of 2,232 individuals born in 1994 and 1995. Loneliness was assessed when participants were aged 12 and 18. Loneliness showed modest stability across these ages (r = .25). Behavioral genetic modeling indicated that stability in loneliness was explained largely by genetic influences (66%), while change was explained by nonshared environmental effects (58%). Individuals who reported loneliness at both ages were broadly similar to individuals who only reported it at age 18, with both groups at elevated risk of mental health problems, physical health risk behaviors, and education a

SUBMITTER: Matthews T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9346093 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature