Loneliness, Social Anxiety Symptoms, and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence: Longitudinal Distinctiveness and Correlated Change.

Loneliness, social anxiety symptoms, and depressive symptoms are internalizing problems that are highly intertwined and often co-occur during adolescence. This overlap and co-occurrence raises the question whether three different labels are used for the same underlying phenomenon. The present study adopts a comprehensive approach to this issue by investigating the development of the three phenomena simultaneously. Specifically, this study aimed to investigate (1) the developmental trend for all three internalizing problems separately, (2) whether they are best described by a single developmental trend, (3) how they co-develop across adolescence, and (4) gender differences in this co-development. The analyses were run in three three-wave longitudinal samples of adolescents with one-year intervals in order to verify the robustness of the findings. Sample 1 (roughly ages 15, 16, and 17) comprised 549 adolescents (63% girls), and Samples 2 and 3 (roughly ages 13, 14, and 15) comprised 811 adolescents (46% girls) and 1101 adolescents (52% girls), respectively. Latent growth curve modeling for the three phenomena separately showed either small increases or stable patterns. A comparison of a Multiple Indicator Latent Growth Model (MILGM) with a Parallel Process Latent Growth Curve Modeling (PPLGCM) showed that the three internalizing problems followed unique, but related, developmental trends across adolescence. The intercepts of the three phenomena were positively correlated with one another in all samples and increases in loneliness were associated consistently with increases in social anxiety symptoms. Only in Sample 3 evidence was found for a similar association between loneliness and depressive symptoms and between social anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms. Except for differences in initial levels, gender differences in the development of the three problems were limited. Overall, the results of the present study clearly indicate that the three internalizing problems are longitudinally distinct from one another, but co-develop across adolescence.

Developmental Change in Loneliness and Attitudes Toward Aloneness in Adolescence.

Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to experiencing feelings of loneliness. Changes in different social contexts and the inability to cope with these changes can result in different types of loneliness. According to the multidimensional view on loneliness, loneliness can be experienced in relationships with peers and parents and can be placed in a broader perspective by taking into account attitudes toward aloneness (i.e., positive and negative). However, we do not yet know how loneliness and attitudes toward aloneness develop across adolescence. These developmental trends were examined in two samples of Flemish adolescents consisting of 834 adolescents (61.9% girls, M age = 14.84; Sample 1), and 968 adolescents (58.6% girls, M age = 14.82; Sample 2), respectively. Adolescents filled out the Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LACA) during regular school hours on three (Sample 1) and four (Sample 2) measurement occasions with a 1-year interval. Latent growth curve modeling (LGCM) was applied. In line with theoretical notions, adolescents' parent-related loneliness and positive attitude toward aloneness were expected to increase, and adolescents' peer-related loneliness and negative attitude toward aloneness were expected to decrease. Clear evidence was found for the hypotheses regarding attitudes toward aloneness. The results regarding peer-related loneliness were inconsistent across samples and parent-related loneliness decreased, which was in contrast with theoretical expectations. In general, the two types of loneliness and attitudes toward aloneness changed in different directions during adolescence, suggesting the added value of a multidimensional view on loneliness.

Loneliness and social anxiety across childhood and adolescence: Multilevel meta-analyses of cross-sectional and longitudinal associations.

Social relationships are of vital importance for children's and adolescents' development, and disruptions in these relationships can have serious implications. Such disruptions play a central role in both loneliness and social anxiety. Although both phenomena are closely related, they have largely been studied separately, and important questions have remained unanswered concerning how both go together within and across time. Multilevel meta-analyses were performed on 102 cross-sectional studies, published between 1981 and 2016, including 41,776 participants (39% males) with a mean age of 15.59 years. Longitudinal associations were examined in 10 studies, including 3,995 participants (46% males), using a novel technique that enables the examination of such associations even when these were not reported in the original empirical studies. Results indicated a strong, positive cross-sectional association between loneliness and social anxiety symptoms. This associations did not systematically differ in strength across childhood and adolescence. Moreover, results showed that loneliness and social anxiety symptoms were reciprocally associated over time. To conclude, loneliness and social anxiety symptoms are positively associated both within and across time, and across childhood and adolescence. Breaking this vicious cycle is of great importance, as both phenomena may be associated with profound problems in multiple domains of youth development. Moreover, failing to pay attention to both loneliness and social anxiety symptoms might substantially reduce the effectiveness of intervention programs focusing on either of the two. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Internalizing Problems in Adolescence: Linking Loneliness, Social Anxiety Symptoms, and Depressive Symptoms Over Time.

Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to experiencing loneliness, social anxiety symptoms, and depressive symptoms. These internalizing problems often co-occur but, until now, it remains unclear how they are associated over time. Insight in these temporal sequences is important to enhance our understanding of how internalizing problems arise and may reinforce each other over time. To examine these temporal sequences, three samples of adolescents were used: Sample 1 consisted of 1,116 adolescents (48.97% girls, Mage = 13.59), Sample 2 of 1,423 adolescents (52.42% girls, Mage = 13.79), and Sample 3 of 549 adolescents (62.66% girls, Mage = 14.82). Adolescents filled out well-established self-report measures of loneliness, social anxiety symptoms, and depressive symptoms during regular school hours at three measurement occasions with a 1-year interval. Meta-analytic techniques were used to estimate the average true effects across three-variable autoregressive cross-lagged models in the three samples. In addition, indirect effects and gender differences in the temporal associations were explored in all three samples. The results suggest that social anxiety symptoms play a crucial role as potential antecedent of emerging feelings of loneliness and depression in adolescence. In addition, in line with theoretical expectations, our results suggest the presence of a vicious cycle between adolescents' feelings of loneliness and social anxiety symptoms. The indirect effects were inconsistent across samples and no gender differences were found. These findings shed more light on the unique temporal relationships among different internalizing problems. Clinical interventions should target social anxiety symptoms to prevent feelings of loneliness and vice versa.