Lonely Today, Tomorrow, Next Week, or Next Month?

Loneliness is increasingly recognised as a public health crisis, especially among adolescents. This project introduced a novel instrument—the Core Components of Adolescent Loneliness Scale (CCoALS)—designed to assess not just how lonely young people feel, but also the distress that accompanies these feelings and the gap between desired and actual social connection.

In a SPARRC funded project led by Professor Stephen Houghton, Over 500 adolescents, aged 10–17, participated in the study, completing the CCoALS every two weeks over a school term. Researchers found that loneliness fluctuated significantly over short periods, often decreasing as the school term progressed. Gender and year level differences emerged, with girls and younger adolescents reporting higher distress and greater perceived disparity in their social lives.

Preliminary results showed that changes in loneliness levels over time—especially the flux from week to week—strongly predicted improvements in positive mental wellbeing. This suggests that monitoring short-term changes in loneliness could offer critical insights for timely intervention.

Importantly, the study also challenged assumptions about the role of duration in loneliness, suggesting that distress and desire for social change—not how long the feelings last—are the true core features. As a result, the CCoALS has been refined and will be re-administered in mid-2025, with ethics approval already secured.

“We now have the first measure that maps directly onto the operational definition of loneliness. This innovation will empower schools, clinicians, and researchers to identify those most at risk—and intervene early.” — Professor Stephen Houghton

Loneliness is not only painful—it is dangerous. It has been linked to a 26% increase in premature mortality and is strongly associated with mental health problems, including suicide ideation. By advancing both theory and practical tools, this SPARRC-funded project offers a critical step forward in addressing what could become one of the defining mental health issues of the decade.