Considerations for coping with loneliness from the perspective of young people

Abstract Adolescence is a time characterized by high friendship instability. Adolescents have to navigate changes to their social worlds alongside developmental challenges such as identity formation. It makes sense then, that loneliness is a common experience during adolescence. For most, loneliness is transient and can be adaptive; it motivates individuals to strengthen their social relationships by seeking connection and evaluating existing relationships. For some, loneliness becomes chronic leading to heightened risk of additional mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, and physical health issues such as cardiovascular disease. Extant interventions to help youth cope with loneliness have been developed based on quantitative research and may be missing qualitative insights that can expand our understanding by identifying the decisions made by young people when determining how to cope. Exploring the lived experience of adolescents who are navigating loneliness can complement quantitative work by identifying preferred coping strategies, and barriers to coping adaptively. This presentation will focus on qualitative research with adolescents highlighting factors that influence their approach to coping. Drawing from insights gathered from 13 focus groups with young people aged 8-24 years in the UK, the presentation will discuss key themes developed to describe the process by which youth determine how to cope, the influence of their underlying reasons for feeling lonely, coping strategies that help to alleviate loneliness, and strategies which are counterproductive.