6533b7d6fe1ef96bd1266fcc

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Loneliness and subjective health complaints among school-aged children

Jorma TynjäläNelli LyyraRaili Välimaa

subject

Malemedicine.medical_specialtyAdolescentInjury controlPoison controlSuicide preventionOccupational safety and healthDiagnostic Self Evaluation03 medical and health sciencesAge Distribution0302 clinical medicinenuoretInjury preventionmedicineHumans0501 psychology and cognitive sciences030212 general & internal medicineSex DistributionChildStudentsPsychiatryFinlandSchool age childsubjective health complaintsbusiness.industryLoneliness05 social sciencesPublic Health Environmental and Occupational HealthHuman factors and ergonomicsta3141subjektiivisuusLonelinessGeneral MedicineHealth SurveysPsychophysiologic DisordersyksinäisyysFemalemedicine.symptomongelmatbusinessterveys050104 developmental & child psychology

description

Aim: The first aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of loneliness and subjective health complaints (SHCs) among school-aged children in Finland. The second aim was to analyse to what extent perceived loneliness explains any variance in SHCs among school-aged children. Method: A representative sample of 5925 Finnish children and adolescents from grades 5 ( Mage=11.8 years), 7 ( Mage=13.8) and 9 ( Mage=15.8) completed the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the prevalence of health complaints and loneliness. Structural equation modelling was used to test how strongly loneliness was associated with SHCs. Results: The prevalence of loneliness and SHCs was higher among girls and increased with age. Loneliness was a significant predictor of health complaints, especially of psychological symptoms among girls and among ninth grade students. Conclusions: The findings indicate that loneliness is a major risk to the health and well-being of school-aged children. The strong association between loneliness and SHCs highlights the importance of active preventive actions to reduce loneliness.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2018-03-20Scandinavian Journal of Public Health
https://doi.org/10.1177/1403494817743901