Global time trends of perceived loneliness among adolescents from 28 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
Por:
Smith L, López Sánchez GF, Pizzol D, Yon DK, Hans Oh, Kostev K, Gawronska J, Rahmati M, Butler L, Barnett Y, Ball G, Shin JI and Koyanagi A
Publicada:
1 feb 2024
Ahead of Print:
10 nov 2023
Resumen:
BACKGROUND: Perceived loneliness in adolescence is associated with a plethora of adverse outcomes. However, data on its temporal trends are scarce. Therefore, we aimed to examine the temporal trend of perceived loneliness among school-going adolescents aged 12-15?years from 28 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, where temporal trends of loneliness are largely unknown. METHODS: Cross-sectional data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey 2003-2017 were analyzed. Perceived loneliness referred to feeling lonely most of the time or always in the past 12?months. Crude linear trends of perceived loneliness by country were assessed by linear regression models. RESULTS: Data on 180,087 adolescents aged 12-15?years were analyzed [Mean (SD) age 13.7 (1.0) years; 51.4?% females]. The overall prevalence of perceived loneliness was 10.7?%. Among the 28 countries included in the study, significant increasing and decreasing trends were observed in six counties each, with stable trends found in 16 countries. The most drastic increase and decrease were observed in Egypt between 2006 (7.9?%) and 2011 (14.3?%), and in Samoa between 2011 (23.3?%) and 2017 (8.0?%), respectively. Stable trends with high prevalence across time were also common. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that perceived loneliness among adolescents is a global phenomenon, which has seen little improvement if any in recent years. It would be prudent to implement nationwide policies to combat loneliness globally.
Filiaciones:
Smith L:
Centre for Health Performance and Wellbeing, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
López Sánchez GF:
Division of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain. Electronic address:
Pizzol D:
Italian Agency for Development Cooperation - Khartoum, Sudan
Yon DK:
Department of Pediatrics, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
Hans Oh:
Suzanne Dworak Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Kostev K:
University Clinic of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
Gawronska J:
The Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
Rahmati M:
Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran
Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Vali-E-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan, Iran
Butler L:
Centre for Health Performance and Wellbeing, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
Barnett Y:
Centre for Health Performance and Wellbeing, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
Ball G:
Medical Technology Research Centre, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK
Shin JI:
Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
Severance Underwood Meta-research Center, Institute of Convergence Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
Koyanagi A:
Research and Development Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, CIBERSAM, ISCIII, Dr. Antoni Pujadas, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
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