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

Yang, K.; Peterson, K.J.; Qualter, P.

doi:10.1177/0165025420965737

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

Yang, K.; Peterson, K.J.; Qualter, P.

Authors

Dr Keming Yang keming.yang@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

K.J. Peterson

P. Qualter

Abstract

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.

Citation

Yang, K., Peterson, K., & Qualter, P. (2022). Undesirable social relations as risk factors for loneliness among 14-year-olds in the UK: Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 46(1), 3-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025420965737

Journal Article Type	Article
Online Publication Date	Oct 20, 2020
Publication Date	Jan 1, 2022
Deposit Date	Oct 14, 2020
Publicly Available Date	Oct 21, 2020
Journal	International Journal of Behavioral Development
Print ISSN	0165-0254
Electronic ISSN	1464-0651
Publisher	SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	46
Issue	1
Pages	3-9
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025420965737

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