Loneliness and Social Isolation in a Sample of Youth Hospitalized for Psychiatric Illness
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Loneliness and Social Isolation in a Sample of Youth Hospitalized for Psychiatric Illness Shannon McBride1 · Michèle Preyde1 Accepted: 4 November 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Social connections can act as a protective factor against long term consequences impacting the physical and emotional wellbeing of youth. This purpose for this study was to explore youth-reported levels of social connectedness prior to discharge from psychiatric inpatient care. A questionnaire was developed and administered in a cross-sectional survey to capture youths’ ratings of peer problems and social connectedness or loneliness. Participants were 161 youth (mean age 15 years, 75% female) accessing inpatient psychiatric treatment for a variety of mental illnesses (57% with a primary diagnosis of major depression). Almost 42% of the patients reported that they would rather be alone, almost 45% reported being bullied and almost 60% reported that they were concerned about peer problems when thinking about their return to school following hospitalization for psychiatric treatment. Overall, many youth reported difficulties with peers, having few friends and wanting to be alone. Many youth may benefit from the assistance of social workers and school personnel to develop and sustain desired friendships.
Background Adolescence is a transitional phase characterized by many personal and developmental changes. With their increasingly developed cognitive abilities, adolescents are able to conceptualize themselves in increasingly complex ways as they distinguish their thoughts, values and worldviews from those of the people around them (Erikson, 1963; Ragelienė, 2016). Adolescents also begin exploring their roles and identities as they search for increased autonomy (Jones & Deutsch, 2013; Heinrich & Gullone, 2006; Larson, 1999; Scholte, van Lieshout, van Aken, 2001). An important shift occurs during adolescence in which youth develop independence from their parents and begin to rely more on their peers than their parents for support and for sharing their stresses, emotions and concerns (Cohen & Wills, 1985). The value placed on peers during this transitional phase of development has been shown to result in youth defining their selfworth based on others’ perceptions of them, demonstrating the importance of having a supportive group of peers and interpersonal resources available in a time of need (Jones &
* Michèle Preyde [email protected] 1
University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
Deutsch, 2013). However, some youth especially youth with psychiatric illness, may experience challenges in their peer network or dyadic friendships. The purpose of this study was to explore peer connections in youth hospitalized for psychiatric illness. Loneliness is more prevalent in adolescence than any other developmental stage at rates as high as 71% compared to the prevalence in geriatric samples where it ranges between 40 and 50% (Qualter et al., 2015). Matthews et al. (2016) defined loneliness as “a subjectiv
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