Loneliness and Adolescent Health Behavior

Abstract

This study investigated relationships between loneliness and a number of adolescent health behaviors in a sample of nearly 1,300 senior high school students. Based upon scores on the revised U.C.L.A. Loneliness Scale, adolescents were classified into a super-lonely, lonely, or not-lonely group. Chi-square tests were used to determine whether the three groups differed in terms of participation in a variety of health or health risk behaviors. Lonely adolescents were more likely to use marijuana than adolescents who are not lonely. Boys who are lonely are less likely to participate in aerobic exercise, be physically active, and are more likely to watch television than boys who are not lonely. Among girls, extreme or super-loneliness was associated with the likelihood of being a current cigarette smoker and vomiting to control weight. Girls in the lonely and super-lonely group were more likely than those in the not-lonely group to have had an eating binge, to consider themselves to be “binge eaters,” and to have “crash” dieted. Implications of these findings for health educators are discussed.