Usamljenost u ranoj adolescenciji: spolne i dobne razlike te povezanost sa socijalnim odnosima
Loneliness in Early Adolescence: Gender and Age Differences and Links with Social Relations

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate gender and age differences in loneliness among preadolescents and young adolescents, and to examine the relationship between loneliness and several indicators of the quality of social relations (sociometric status, same-gender friendship intimacy, and social support). The study encompassed 188 elementary school pupils in grades 5th to 8th, who filled out the Short Form of the UCLA Loneliness Scale, Intimate Friendship Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Sociometric Questionnaire. Children reported a relatively low level of loneliness, with boys feeling significantly lonelier than girls. Among girls, older ones reported higher loneliness than younger ones, while among boys younger ones felt lonelier than older ones. Indicators of the quality of social relations explained a similar amount of variance in girls’ (11.1%) and boys’ (11.7%) loneliness. However, predictors of loneliness differed for children of different gender. Girls who felt lonelier perceived lower social support and had better status in the classroom, while boys with better status among classmates reported lower loneliness.

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