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

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 and employment difficulties. Individuals who were lonely only at age 12 generally fared better; however, they were still more likely to finish school with lower qualifications. Positive family influences in childhood predicted reduced risk of loneliness at age 12, while negative peer experiences increased the risk. Together, the findings show that while early adolescent loneliness does not appear to exert a cumulative burden when it persists, it is nonetheless a risk for a range of concomitant impairments, some of which can endure.

Trajectories of childhood social isolation in a nationally representative cohort: Associations with antecedents and early adulthood outcomes.

Background: This study examined early life antecedents of childhood social isolation, whether these factors accounted for poor outcomes of isolated children, and how these associations varied according to patterns of stability and change in childhood isolation. Methods: Participants included 2232 children from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study. We conducted growth mixture modelling (GMM) on combined parent and teacher reports of children's social isolation when children were 5, 7, 10 and 12 years, and we assessed associations with age-5 antecedents and age-18 outcomes using regression analyses. Results: We identified three linear developmental trajectories of increasing (4.75%), decreasing (5.25%) and low stable (90.00%) social isolation. Age-5 attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, emotional problems, prosocial behaviours, maternal personality (openness) and size of school were associated with the decreasing trajectory of social isolation. When controlling for these antecedents, increasingly isolated children were still more likely to experience ADHD symptoms, loneliness, lower job optimism and lower physical activity at age 18. Conclusions: Isolated children follow distinct patterns of change over childhood and isolation seems most detrimental to health at the time it is experienced. Social isolation can be a valuable indicator of co-occurring problems and provide targets for mental health intervention in young people.