Spotting Loneliness at School: Associations between Self-Reports and Teacher and Peer Nominations

Flore Geukens, Marlies Maes, Antonius H. N. Cillessen, Hilde Colpin, Karla Van Leeuwen, Karine Verschueren and Luc Goossens
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Flore Geukens: School Psychology and Development in Context, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Marlies Maes: School Psychology and Development in Context, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Antonius H. N. Cillessen: Behavioral Science Institute, Radboud University, 6503 GG Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Hilde Colpin: School Psychology and Development in Context, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Karla Van Leeuwen: Parenting and Special Education, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Karine Verschueren: School Psychology and Development in Context, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Luc Goossens: School Psychology and Development in Context, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: In two independent studies, we aimed to examine the extent to which teacher and peer nominations of loneliness are associated with children’s and adolescents’ self-reported loneliness, respectively. Additionally, we examined whether loneliness nominations from teachers and peers were informative above and beyond peer status and social behaviors associated with loneliness. In Study 1 ( N = 1594, M age = 9.43 years), teacher nominations of loneliness showed a small to moderate correlation with children’s self-reported loneliness as assessed using the Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Questionnaire (LSDQ). The results of a hierarchical regression analysis showed that teacher nominations of loneliness predicted children’s self-reported loneliness above and beyond teacher nominations of peer status and social behaviors. In Study 2 ( N = 350, M age = 13.81 years), peer nominations of loneliness showed a small to moderate correlation with adolescents’ self-reported loneliness as assessed using the peer-related loneliness subscale of the Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LACA). The results of a hierarchical regression analysis showed that peer nominations of loneliness predicted adolescents’ self-reported loneliness above and beyond peer nominations of peer status and social behaviors. We conclude that loneliness nominations are valuable, but caution is needed when they are used exclusively to identify lonely children and adolescents.

Keywords: loneliness; childhood; adolescence; teachers; peers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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