Increasing loneliness among children and adolescents from 2018 to 2022: A representative survey before and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: Loneliness is an increasingly present topic in scientific and public discourse, and has gained relevance, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, there is a lack of representative studies examining the prevalence of loneliness among children and adolescents before and after the pandemic. Accordingly, the present study aimed to determine the prevalence of loneliness among 11- to 15-year-old students before (2018) and after (2022) the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and to investigate subgroup differences. Methods: In this cross-sectional Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, the prevalence of loneliness was compared in representative samples in the German federal state of Brandenburg from 2018 and 2022. In 2018, data were collected from 3,057 (51.8% girls, Mage= 13.1, SD = 1.7) and, in 2022, from 3,801 (52.6% girls, Mage= 13.5, SD = 1.6) students in general education schools in grades 5, 7, and 9. Loneliness was assessed using a single item from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The chi-square test was used to determine bivariate correlations. To validate the bivariate results, we performed a logistic regression in which we also added interaction effects to test whether loneliness developed differently depending on gender, grade, and family affluence. Results: In total, 11.8% of the students reported being lonely in 2018, and 19.3% reported being lonely in 2022. Loneliness was more prevalent among girls, nonbinary students, older adolescents, and students with lower family affluence. The increase in loneliness did not differ depending on age, gender, or family affluence. Conclusion: The findings highlight that loneliness among German children and adolescents is a widespread phenomenon that has increased significantly since 2018. The sharp increase in loneliness clarifies the need for prevention measures and further research into health-related associations of loneliness.