Psychosocial stressors and determinants of loneliness among school-going adolescents globally.

BACKGROUND

Loneliness is an intense psychosocial health problem among adolescents. This study was carried out to comprehensively examine the prevalence and risk factors associated with loneliness among adolescents.

METHODS

We analyzed data from a comprehensive survey Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) involving 179,937 adolescents aged 11-17 years from 59 countries. Binary logistic regression was applied to identify the factors associated with loneliness among adolescents.

RESULTS

A total of 179,937 adolescents aged 11-17 years from 59 countries where 85,158 (47.44 %) male and 94,362 (52.56 %) female participated in the study. Eastern Mediterranean Region had the greatest prevalence (15.83, CI: 15.81-15.84), much higher than the overall prevalence of 11.16. In contrast, South-East Asia had the lowest estimate (8.45, CI: 8.44-8.58), indicating better results or lower prevalence. The African Region (12.21, CI: 12.19-12.23) and Region of the Americas (11.01, CI: 10.98-11.04) are closer to the world average than the Western Pacific Region (10.50, 10.48-10.52). Occasionally, adolescents experienced food insecurity (AOR: 1.21, 95 % CI: 1.1-1.33) and frequently or always (AOR: 2.11, 95 % CI: 1.81-2.46) had high levels of loneliness. Being bullied, physically fighting, seriously injured, had no close friends, parents sometimes or rarely check homework, parents never understand problem, sedentary behavior 3-4 h or >4 h, suicidal ideation, and suicidal plan were all highly associated with loneliness.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights the pressing need for policies and programs aimed at mitigating the mental health crisis among adolescents globally.