Zijn meer negatieve levensgebeurtenissen bij jongeren gerelateerd aan een hogere mate van eenzaamheid en wordt dit verband gemedieerd door een lagere mate van zelfvertrouwen?

Abstract

Loneliness is a prevalent issue in the Netherlands, negatively impacting youth development by being linked to various forms of psychopathology, reducing life satisfaction, self-esteem, and increasing susceptibility to substance abuse. Given these adverse effects, it is crucial to investigate the causes of loneliness. Previous research has identified connections between self-confidence, life events, and loneliness. Studies suggest that multiple negative life events hinder the formation of social contacts, causing youth to feel lonely. Additionally, multiple negative life events are known to affect self-confidence, and low self-confidence further hampers social connections, leading to loneliness. Despite these findings, prior research on the relationship between negative life events and loneliness has not included self-confidence as a mediator. Given its theoretical plausibility, self-confidence is considered a mediator in this study. In this study, 65 youth aged 12-30 who have participated in the Join Us intervention completed an online questionnaire, and three interviews were conducted. Correlation and mediation analyses through PROCESS were performed. The results did not show a significant association between negative life events and loneliness, nor between negative life events and self-confidence. However, there was a significant association between self-confidence and loneliness; higher self-confidence was linked to higher loneliness. Additionally, no significant mediation effect of self-confidence on the relationship between negative life events and loneliness was found. Future research should involve a larger sample size and consider including coping mechanisms as a mediator instead of self-confidence. Join Us protocols do not address negative life events in the intervention. Understanding which constructs mediate the relationship between negative life events and loneliness is crucial for developing appropriate interventions to reduce loneliness among adolescents and mitigate its negative consequences.