Author:

Keywords:

loneliness, attitudes toward aloneness, cluster analysis, adolescents, parents, peers, Social Sciences, Psychology, Developmental, Psychology, Loneliness, Attitudes toward aloneness, Cluster analysis, Adolescents, Parents, Peers, PEER RELATIONS, PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTROL, SELF-ESTEEM, PREDICTORS, FRIENDSHIP, SOLITUDE, VALIDITY, VICTIMIZATION, RELIABILITY, ACCEPTANCE, Adolescent, Attitude, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Peer Group, Psychology, Adolescent, Self Concept, Social Support, Surveys and Questionnaires, Young Adult, 1303 Specialist Studies in Education, 1701 Psychology, Developmental & Child Psychology, 5201 Applied and developmental psychology, 5203 Clinical and health psychology, 5205 Social and personality psychology

Abstract:

In adolescence, feeling lonely and dealing with time spent alone become particularly salient. The present study examined the co-occurrence of parent- and peer-related loneliness, and positive and negative attitudes toward aloneness, using cluster analysis. In three independent samples, covering about 1,800 adolescents (61% female), six meaningful groups were identified. These groups showed different associations with adolescents’ self-esteem and personality, parental responsiveness and psychological control, and peer group functioning and friendships. An adaptive pattern of correlates was found for adolescents in three of the six groups, that is, the Indifference group (with rather low scores on the four constructs), the Moderate group (with moderate scores on the four constructs), and the Negative Attitude Toward Aloneness group. A rather maladaptive pattern of correlates was found for adolescents in the three other groups, that is, the Peer-Related Loneliness group, the Positive Attitude Toward Aloneness group, and the Parent-Related Loneliness group. More specifically, adolescents in the Peer-Related Loneliness and Positive Attitude Toward Aloneness groups may need assistance regarding their relations with their peers, whereas adolescents in the Parent-Related Loneliness group may need assistance regarding their relations with their parents. Implications of these findings for current understanding and optimal measurement of adolescents’ loneliness and aloneness are discussed.