Association between Loneliness and Suicidal Thoughts and Attempts in Adolescence and Young Adulthood: A Longitudinal Analysis of a Nationally Representative US Sample

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OBJECTIVE: Previous research has identified loneliness as a risk factor for suicidal ideation and attempt but has lacked studies using representative samples of adolescents. We aimed to address this evidence gap by using a nationally representative sample of US adolescents to investigate whether loneliness is longitudinally associated with suicide-related outcomes. METHOD: We analyzed data on 17,751 participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) aged 11-21 years at baseline. We used multivariable logistic regression to test the longitudinal association between baseline loneliness (1995; aged 11-21 years) and past-year suicidal ideation and suicide attempt measured six years later (2001-2002; aged 18-28 years) and 13 years later (2008-2009; aged 24-34 years) adjusted for socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. However, there was no association between loneliness and suicide attempt at either follow-up point. CONCLUSIONS: Loneliness aged 11-21 years predicts suicidal ideation (but not suicide attempt) 13 years later, suggesting a need for interventions delivered at the start of adolescence to prevent the onset of distressing suicidal ideation later in adolescence and young adulthood.