Loneliness profiles, attachment security, and friendship quality in adolescence

Loneliness is closely linked to socio-emotional difficulties, especially during adolescence. Adopting a multidimensional and a person-centred approach, the present study aimed to identify distinct profiles of peer-related social and emotional loneliness in adolescence and their associations with attachment security to each parent and friendship quality. A sample of 526 adolescents (52.3% girls; M age = 12.60) completed self-reported measures. Cluster analysis identified five profiles: Not-lonely, Not-emotionally lonely, Emotionally lonely, Socially lonely, and Lonely profile (high on social and emotional loneliness). Attachment security was highest among adolescents in the Not-lonely and in Not-emotionally lonely profiles specially for mother, and lowest among those in the Lonely and Socially lonely profiles specially for father, suggesting that attachment to each parent contributes uniquely to adolescents’ experiences of loneliness. Considering the friendship quality, Lonely and Emotionally lonely profiles showed the lower values. Interestingly, the Not-emotionally lonely did not differ from the Socially lonely profile indicating that a friend is not sufficient to report high quality of friendships. Our findings highlight the importance of a nuanced understanding of loneliness for developing more accurate interventions.