Teenage loneliness: Insights for families and communities

Key takeaways for caregivers 

• Higher levels of belongingness to friends, school, hobbies, home, and society were linked to starting off on trajectories with lower levels of loneliness across adolescence. 

• Belongingness to friend groups had the most associations with the different loneliness trajectories. 

• Nevertheless, belongingness to several different groups differentiated chronic high loneliness from stable low loneliness, suggesting different kinds of groups are still important for adolescents’ loneliness. In other words, it may be better not to put all one’s eggs in one basket. 

• Adolescents with chronically high levels of loneliness reported the worst school burnout and outcomes related to well-being, although loneliness was not related to drug use. 

• Study groups may both reduce loneliness and improve grades. 

• Becoming involved in different groups during adolescence may help prevent the onset of loneliness and its consequences. 

This blog post is based on research originally published in Beattie, M., Kiuru, N., & Salmela-Aro, K. (2024). Belongingness to groups, adolescent loneliness trajectories, and their consequences. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 49(3), 240-251. 

Trends show decreasing connections within communities 

Human beings thrive through strong social bonds. However, in today’s individualistic society, people may forget about the importance of belonging to broader social networks, local communities, and close-knit groups like friends and family. 

Researcher Robert Putnam, author of the best-selling book, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, analyzed data from national surveys and membership records in the United States, and documented a breakdown of community after a peak around the 1960s. According to Putnam’s research,  adults in the United States have become less involved in both broader social networks and more local or intimate groups.  

This decline has continued in the United States and appears to be occurring in other parts of the world. Consequently, fewer people alive now have experienced the strong sense of community that prior generations enjoyed. People today may not realize what we are missing, but we may still be missing something. 

Potential consequences of decreased connections 

During these times of a lack of decreased social capital, communitarianism, social connections and community involvement, even more attention to belonging to different groups is needed, because our need to belong may be frustrated. In this context, it could be helpful for families to pay more attention to their involvement in communities to support their children’s and their own well-being. 

In our study, we investigated how belonging to different groups is related to loneliness across adolescence. Our findings provide insights as families reflect on adolescents’ friend groups and engagement with local and broader community groups. 

Loneliness is painful and linked to serious health problems 

Loneliness is not the same as just being alone – it is the painful feeling that one’s social relationships are lacking in quality or quantity. People can feel lonely even when they are surrounded by others. Beyond being a painful feeling, loneliness has significant health consequences, even increasing the risk of premature death by 26%. 

Loneliness in teenagers

As teenagers begin to need more time with friends and less time with family than they did as younger children, their social worlds shift dramatically. Friendships become central, and transitions between grades or schools during the teen years can disrupt established social networks, for better or worse. Understanding how loneliness develops during adolescence – and what might protect against it – is crucial for promoting adolescent well-being. 

Our study: Mapping teenagers’ loneliness over time in Finland 

We conducted a longitudinal study of 2,765 adolescents born in 2000 and attending schools in Helsinki, Finland. Slightly more than half the participants identified as girls and most indicated Finnish as their native language. More than half of both mothers and fathers of study participants completed education beyond upper secondary school. 

Participants were surveyed annually at approximately ages 12 to 19 (from 2013 to 2019) about their experiences of loneliness. At the beginning of the study, they also reported their feelings of belongingness to various groups, ranging from small (e.g., home) to large (e.g., international society). In the final year of the study, the adolescents completed surveys about their mental, physical, and academic well-being. 

Adolescents tended to report minimal loneliness with a slight increase over time 

Students completed a standard questionnaire about how much they experienced elements of loneliness (e.g., “I have a feeling that I can’t rely on anyone”). Response options were along a scale (1 = no, 2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes, and 4 = often).  

Overall, the average rate of loneliness started slightly below “rarely” during primary school and increased to slightly above “rarely” by the end of upper secondary school, with the most noticeable increases between grades 8 and 9 (the last years of lower secondary school) and the two last years of upper secondary school. However, that broad analysis captured only the collective pattern, hiding the nuances of individuals’ fluctuating levels of loneliness. 

Some teens reported more loneliness, with distinct patterns over time 

To better understand different experiences underlying that overall average pattern, we used a statistical method called latent profile analysis to identify how many distinct loneliness trajectories there were in the data. We found six trajectories, revealing how loneliness developed in different ways for subgroups of adolescents over time. The six trajectories can be grouped into three general patterns, with two sub-patterns for each:

1. Stable trajectories:

Teens in these groups reported relatively unchanging levels of loneliness throughout adolescence:
a. Stable low (about 50% of the adolescents) responded “no” or “rarely” to items asking if they feel lonely in various ways
b. Stable elevated (about 5%) responded “sometimes.”

2. Gradual change trajectories:

Teens in these groups showed a small and fairly steady decrease or increase in loneliness over adolescence:
a. Winding down (about 12%) started at a moderate level of loneliness (between “rarely” and “sometimes”) that generally decreased over the years, despite some changes along the way.
b. Winding up (about 15%) started at “rarely” and increased to “sometimes,” with a marked peak the year after transitioning from lower to upper secondary school.

3. Peaking/volatile trajectories:

Teens in these groups showed more abrupt changes:
a. Moderates with a 7th grade peak (about 9%) generally reported “rarely” feeling lonely but temporarily spiked to “sometimes” during the first year of lower secondary school.
b. Low becomes volatile (about 8%) started even lower than “rarely” but increased around the end of lower secondary school (grade 9) to “sometimes” and fluctuated between those levels over the following years.

About a third of teens experienced elevated levels of loneliness during some or all of adolescence 

The patterns we detected reveal that almost two-thirds of teenagers surveyed experienced levels of loneliness that generally stayed below “sometimes” (stable low and winding down trajectories).

However, a significant minority faced chronically elevated (stable elevated) levels of loneliness or heightened loneliness during some years (winding up, moderates with a 7th grade peak, and low becomes volatile), reaching average levels above “sometimes.” Some individual adolescents reported experiencing loneliness “often.”

How teens’ loneliness trajectories related to mental health and school life 

Next, we examined how loneliness trajectories related to adolescents’ self-reported well-being at ages 18-19 ( i.e., the final year of upper secondary school).

• Mental health: Adolescents on the trajectories described as stable elevated and moderates with a 7th grade peak reported the highest levels of depressive symptoms and the lowest life satisfaction.
• Academic burnout: Students on the stable elevated and winding up trajectories experienced the most school burnout (i.e., feeling overwhelmed by schoolwork).
• Grades: Contrary to our expectations, adolescents on the stable elevated loneliness trajectory performed at relatively high levels academically (i.e., had high grade point averages ) and teens on the stable low loneliness trajectory had relatively low GPAs.
• Substance use: Adolescents’ reported substance use (alcohol, tobacco, or drug use) did not differ significantly among groups experiencing different loneliness trajectories.

Overall, these results highlight some long-term challenges linked to adolescent loneliness – not just in terms of youth’s emotional health, but also in terms of academic performance and burnout.

Unexpected links between elevated loneliness and higher grades

Based on other research and insights, our initial hypotheses connected loneliness with poorer outcomes including worse grades, but the trends showed that students with elevated loneliness had higher grades. While those trends were not strong (not statistically significant), they invite consideration.

One possible explanation is that some students might spend so much time studying by themselves that they neglect their relationships. Other students might be so focused on social connection that they neglect their studies. In this sense, study groups, with their simultaneous focus on socialization and course content, might help a diverse population. Being involved in a study group might ease loneliness and support academic learning

Group belongingness: A protective factor for teenagers? 

What factors or individual characteristics might help distinguish between teens likely to experience one trajectory versus another? A key innovation of our study was its exploration of the role of belongingness – the feeling of acceptance and approval – not at a general level, but to different types of groups:

• Home (household/family)
• Friend groups
• School
• Religious communities
• A hobby community
• Membership organizations
• Social media communities
• And broader societies at the national and international levels

Study groups, with their simultaneous focus on socialization and course content, might help a diverse population.

Lacking a strong sense of belonging to various groups was more common among adolescents on trajectories that started with elevated levels of loneliness, we found. In contrast, the highest levels of belonging were most common among adolescents on the stable low trajectory.  

Does belonging to certain groups protect teens from loneliness more than others? 

Higher levels of belongingness in almost all groups we studied (aside from religious organizations) was linked to less loneliness. Feeling connected to groups of friends, school, home, hobby-related communities, or national and international societies may help prevent loneliness throughout adolescence. In line with other insights into adolescent development, a sense of belonging to friend groups, in particular, most clearly differentiated teens on different loneliness trajectories. 

In our study, we did not directly address whether the link between increased levels of belonginess and lower levels of loneliness means that one caused the other. However, our findings are consistent with a growing body of evidence that belongingness is a critical buffer against loneliness. It is worth noting that those who followed a consistently low loneliness trajectory across adolescence reported several sources of belonging, suggesting it is good to belong to several different groups should something happen with one of them.

In addition, experimental evidence suggests that actively increasing group belonging can reduce loneliness. At the same time, it is important to ensure that groups are inclusive. Adolescents should not feel excluded for their religion or gender identity, for example. Further research will help explore the balance between the benefits of groups for people who are included and the risks of alienation for people who do not identify with a given group (i.e., a different ethnic group).

Loneliness in teens: What we know—and what we do not know 

Our study in Finland highlights the variation in loneliness trajectories over adolescence, the importance of school transitions as potentially sensitive times in adolescents’ social lives, and the possible buffers and consequences of loneliness. 

Similarities and differences in teen loneliness around the world 

Although we studied only Finnish students, research in other countries has also identified a handful of specific loneliness trajectories across adolescence. While there is variation, the general pattern shows most adolescents reporting low levels of loneliness and a smaller segment suffering chronically elevated levels of loneliness. Across countries, studies have found a relation between loneliness and symptoms of depression. 

While there is variation, the general pattern shows most adolescents reporting low levels of loneliness and a smaller segment suffering chronically elevated levels of loneliness.

That said, cultural differences may influence the nuances of how belonging to certain groups relates to loneliness in different parts of the world. In our study, belonging to religious communities was not significantly associated with loneliness trajectories – possibly reflecting Finland’s relatively secular culture. This suggests that cultural context can shape the relevance of different social groups, and points to the importance of studying connections to specific groups rather than a broader concept of belongingness. 

Final thoughts on loneliness and teens

Our research highlights links among social belonging, loneliness, and mental and academic well-being. As schools and communities grapple with rising concerns about youth mental health, our findings suggest one promising path forward: Invest in communities. Whether through peer groups, hobby clubs, or inclusive school cultures, fostering a sense of belonging might be an effective medicine to heal the “terrible disease of loneliness,” as Kurt Vonnegut once called it in a commencement address.