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It Hurts To Be Lonely! Loneliness and Positive Mental Wellbeing in Australian Rural and Urban Adolescents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2016

Stephen Houghton ,
John Hattie ,
Annemaree Carroll Open the ORCID record for Annemaree Carroll [Opens in a new window] ,
Lisa Wood  and
Bernard Baffour
Stephen Houghton*
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Education, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
John Hattie
Affiliation:
Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Annemaree Carroll
Affiliation:
School of Education, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Lisa Wood
Affiliation:
School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
Bernard Baffour
Affiliation:
Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Stephen Houghton, Graduate School of Education, The University of Western Australia WA 6009, Australia. Email: stephen.houghton@uwa.edu.au
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Abstract

This study examined associations between loneliness, a construct associated with serious adverse mental health outcomes, and positive mental wellbeing. Validated measures of loneliness (represented by friendship-related loneliness, isolation, positive attitude to solitude, and negative attitude to solitude) and positive mental wellbeing were administered to 1,143 adolescents from urban and rural schools. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed satisfactory model fit for both measures. A structural equation model confirmed significant positive associations between positive mental wellbeing and friendship-related loneliness and positive attitude to solitude; a significant negative association was found for isolation. Regression analyses provided support for significant differences in these associations according to gender, age, and geographical location (although only marginally). The implications of these findings during adolescence are reviewed.

Keywords

lonelinessadolescentspositive mental wellbeing
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools , Volume 26 , Issue 1 , June 2016 , pp. 52 - 67
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016 

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