Adolescent Loneliness Trends and Contextual Correlates Across 38 Countries From 2000 to 2022

Area of Science:

• Adolescent Health
• Social Epidemiology
• International Comparative Studies

Background:

• Adolescent loneliness is a growing concern with potential long-term impacts on mental health.
• Understanding multinational trends and contributing factors is crucial for developing targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate multinational trends in adolescent loneliness from 2000 to 2022.
• To identify country-level correlates of adolescent loneliness, including socioeconomic and public health factors.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 1,267,476 adolescents (aged 15-16) across 38 OECD countries via the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
• Employed multilevel piecewise regression to analyze loneliness trends across three distinct periods (2000-2012, 2012-2015, 2015-2022).
• Assessed associations between loneliness and country-level factors like internet use and unemployment rates.

Main Results:

• A significant increase in loneliness scores was observed from 2012-2015 (0.045 points/year) and 2015-2022 (0.017 points/year).
• Higher country-level weekly internet use and increased unemployment rates were associated with decreased loneliness scores within countries.
• No significant association was found between loneliness and COVID-19 mortality, distancing measures, income inequality, or peacefulness.

Conclusions:

• Adolescent loneliness demonstrated a substantial increase starting in 2012, continuing with smaller annual rises through 2022.
• Within-country analyses suggest that rising unemployment rates and increased internet usage are linked to reduced adolescent loneliness.