Professor Toshiaki Shimizu and Associate Professor Ai Noda of the Juntendo University School of Medicine studied loneliness among adolescents in 70 countries in Africa, America, and Asia based on data from researchers at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, University College London, UK, and the World Health Organization (WHO). An analysis of feelings revealed that anti-bullying measures are effective in preventing loneliness.
The study analyzed data published by WHO on 13 people aged 17 to 24 years old and examined the prevalence of loneliness among adolescents and its associated factors.According to the results, 8,017% of the subjects felt lonely when defined as cases where they answered that they "often" or "always" felt lonely in the past year.By region, it is 1% in Africa and 11.7% in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In addition, loneliness was higher among females, students who had been bullied, and students who did not have a best friend than males.A link between bullying and loneliness has been found in all countries except Egypt and Vanuatu.Based on these results, the research group believes that anti-bullying measures are effective in preventing loneliness.
Loneliness among adolescents can lead to drinking, smoking and substance abuse, and has been linked to suicide.Most of the research to date has focused on high-income countries such as Europe and the United States, and there has been insufficient knowledge on middle- and low-income countries.
Paper information:[Journal of Adolescent Health] Adolescent Loneliness in 70 Countries across Africa, America and Asia: A Comparison of Prevalence and Correlates
