Investigating Patterns of Association Between Adolescent Loneliness and Adolescent Developmental Domains

Background Adolescent mental health is on the decline, and questions have been raised as to what might be contributing. The experience of emotional and social loneliness has been linked to an increased risk of developing anxiety, depression, and suicidal behaviors in both adulthood and adolescence. However, little research has been conducted on the relationship between known risk and protective factors and loneliness in adolescence. Methods This secondary data analysis aims to examine the patterns of association between risk and protective factors in key developmental domains on loneliness. A total of 7,737 adolescent (M age = 14.6, 51% male) responses were collected during the 2022-2023 academic year. Multiple regression was used to test the patterns of association. A one-way ANOVA was deployed to examine mean differences between junior high and high school students. Results Results found that indicators from the family, peer and school domain, as well as the individual level self-awareness indicator, were significantly negatively associated with loneliness. Junior High School Students reported significantly higher family support, peer support, school connectedness and self-awareness. Discussion Findings suggest that interventions for adolescent loneliness should consider targeting risk and protective factors across all key developmental domains. Conclusion While additional research is needed to more fully understand loneliness among today’s adolescents, this study provides a necessary first step and paves the way for the creation of additional interventions in this area.