Effects of social isolation on children and adolescents

Unfortunately, many children and adolescents with long-termillness are unable to attend school for extended periods. Forexample, school absence for children and adolescents with MEand cancer can range from months to years and vary betweenperiodical and total (Dowsett & Colby, 1997; Bell, 2016). Schoolabsence for prolonged periods results in limited interaction withother children and adolescents. Some children may end upcompletely losing their social network. What kind ofconsequences can this kind of social isolation have for childrenand young adults?

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Effects of social isolation on mentalhealth

In a quantitative study of 4,227 adolescents between 13 and 19years, scientists at the Norwegian Social Research Institute(NOVA) examined the extent of mental health problems amongadolescents. Within the study, they compared youths with andwithout close friends to confide in and found that a significantlygreater proportion of those lacking a close friend reportedhaving depressive symptoms than those with close friends.Significantly, more than 1 in 3 girls, without a close friend,reported experiencing depressive symptoms (Hartberg & Hegna,2014).

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Being unable to attend school due to illness is obviously notsynonymous with having no friends to confide in. However,school absence leads to less social interaction and can result insome children completely losing touch with friends (Drachler etal., 2009).

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In another quantitative study of 4,526 adolescents between 13and 19 years, researchers from the Norwegian Institute of PublicHealth examined factors that affected young people'spsychological health positively and negatively. Of the factorsthey chose to study, they saw that “social support from friends”and “spending spare time with friends” were the strongestprotective factors against mental disorders among adolescents(Myklestad, Røysamb & Tambs, 2012).

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The findings of both studies are consistent with previousnational and international studies, which show that socialsupport from friends and peers helps to protect adolescentsfrom mental disorders. (Hirch & DuBois, 1992; Ystgaard, 1997;Kapi, Veltsista, Kavadias, Lekea & Bakoula, 2007).

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Social isolation and loneliness

Many associate social isolation with loneliness. When it comesto loneliness, Perlman and Peplau’s (1981) definition is oftenreferenced. They define loneliness as a negative feeling – alonely person is experiencing a discrepancy between desired and actual social contact.

Being socially isolated is not synonymous with being lonely.However, there will often be a correlation between socialisolation and loneliness. People with few contacts are moreoften lonelier than people with many contacts (Meeuwesen, Hortulanus and Machielse, 2001; Halvorsen, 2005). It isregrettable that some children and adolescents feel lonely. Regardless of research, most people are aware that loneliness isa painful feeling.

In addition to it being unfortunate that some children and youngpeople feel lonely, studies have also found connections betweenloneliness and mental health problems. Much empirical researchon adults and adolescents shows a link between loneliness anddepression (see for example Qualter, Brown, Munn & Rotenberg,2010). Interestingly, studies have found that friendship-relatedloneliness is more explanatory for depressive symptoms amongadolescents than parent-related loneliness. One possibleexplanation is that friends are the preferred source of socialsupport during adolescence (Lau, Chan & Lau, 1999).

Scientists have long known that loneliness in adults canpredispose depressive symptoms later in life. Lately, they havealso seen that lonely children are more susceptible to depressivesymptoms in youth. In one study, researchers conclude thatprevention of loneliness in childhood may be a protective factoragainst depression in adulthood (Qualter et al., 2010).

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Summary

Many children with long-term illness are away from school forprolonged periods of time. This results in limited opportunitiesto spend time with other children and young people, and someend up losing their social network. This is both sad andalarming. Research shows that social isolation and lonelinessoften correlates with mental disorders, including depressivedisorders.

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Bibliography

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8. Lau, S., Chan, D. W., & Lau, P. S. (1999). Facets of lonelinessand depression among Chinese children and adolescents. TheJournal of Social Psychology, 139(6), 713-729.

9. Myklestad, I., Røysamb, E., & Tambs, K. (2012). Risk andprotective factors for psychological distress amongadolescents: a family study in the Nord-Trøndelag HealthStudy. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 47(5),771-782.

10. Meeuwesen, L., Hortulanus, R., & Machielse, A. (2001). Socialcontacts and social isolation: A typology. The Netherlandsjournal of social sciences, 37(2), 188-199.

11. Perlman, D., & Peplau, L. A. (1981). Toward a socialpsychology of loneliness. Personal relationships, 3, 31-56.

12. Qualter, P., Brown, S. L., Munn, P., & Rotenberg, K. J. (2010). Childhood loneliness as a predictor of adolescent depressivesymptoms: an 8-year longitudinal study. European Child &Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(6), 493-501.

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