Loneliness and Emotional and Externalizing Problems in Early Adolescence: Moderating and Mediating Effects of Coping Skills

Sharmila Vaz; Reinie Cordier; Annette Joosten; Mandie Shean; Robert Kane; Melissa H Black; Karen Martin; Natasha Pearce; Kevin Runions

doi:10.3390/bs15091192

Back

Loneliness and Emotional and Externalizing Problems in Early Adolescence: Moderating and Mediating Effects of Coping Skills

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Loneliness and Emotional and Externalizing Problems in Early Adolescence: Moderating and Mediating Effects of Coping Skills

Sharmila Vaz, Reinie Cordier, Annette Joosten, Mandie Shean, Robert Kane, Melissa H Black, Karen Martin, Natasha Pearce and Kevin Runions

Behavioral sciences, Vol.15(9), 1192

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15091192

PMID: 41009222

Files and links (1)

pdf

Published1.44 MBDownload View

CC BY V4.0, Open Access

Abstract

well-being

mental health

adolescent

school transition

resilience

social–emotional health

youth

cope

Loneliness is an unavoidable facet of human existence. When chronic and intense, adolescent loneliness is associated with maladjustment over time. A prospective multiple-cohort study examined the links between child-reported loneliness and coping skills and parent-rated child mental health in early adolescence (aged 11.9 years at Time 1; 12.9 years at Time 2), with a total of 266 students from 75 primary and 152 secondary schools. Results indicated that (i) boys and girls did not differ in their levels of loneliness; (ii) boys reported poorer coping, fewer emotional problems, and more externalizing problems than girls; (iii) loneliness in primary school predicted increases in emotional and externalizing problems over time; (iv) problem-solving and non-productive coping mediated the associations between loneliness and emotional problems and externalizing problems; and (v) reference to others' coping moderated the association between loneliness and emotional problems. Findings suggest that loneliness may potentially erode positive coping mechanisms over time. This study emphasizes the importance of understanding and addressing the impact of loneliness on early-adolescent mental health.

Details

Title: Loneliness and Emotional and Externalizing Problems in Early Adolescence: Moderating and Mediating Effects of Coping Skills
Authors/Creators: Sharmila Vaz - Murdoch University, Ngangk Yira Institute for Change
Reinie Cordier - University of Cape Town
Annette Joosten - Australian Catholic University
Mandie Shean - Charleston Southern University
Robert Kane - Curtin University
Melissa H Black - La Trobe University
Karen Martin - The University of Western Australia
Natasha Pearce - The Kids Research Institute Australia
Kevin Runions - The University of Western Australia
Publication Details: Behavioral sciences, Vol.15(9), 1192
Publisher: MDPI
Number of pages: 27
Identifiers: 991005816849907891
Murdoch Affiliation: Ngangk Yira Institute for Change
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

Metrics

50 File views/ downloads

15 Record Views

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Citation topics: 6 Social Sciences; 6.24 Psychiatry & Psychology; 6.24.1058 Bullying Dynamics
Web Of Science research areas: Psychology, Multidisciplinary
ESI research areas: Psychiatry/Psychology