[Loneliness and adolescence: clinical implications and outlook. Literature review]

Loneliness is particularly prevalent during adolescence, a time also associated with the appearance of psychiatric illnesses. Loneliness has been linked to a number of mental health indicators such as depressive symptoms, self-esteem, anxiety, and perceived stress. During adolescence, the individual undergoes major social and personal transformations through redefining their social network thus making them more susceptible to developing mental health problems. Some studies suggest that the risk of mental health problems arises when an adolescent is repeatedly faced with loneliness. Mental health workers should therefore focus on any given adolescent's inability to establish satisfactory interpersonal relationships as a predictive element of loneliness. Thus, it would seem that the development of loneliness prevention and intervention programs aimed at adolescents who are unable to establish satisfactory interpersonal relationships could be of benefit to many.