Dataset Information

Loneliness in young adulthood: Its intersecting forms and its association with psychological well-being and family characteristics in Northern Taiwan.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVES:Most researchers have examined forms of loneliness as discrete and emotional distress. The approach proposed in this study captures the reality that many persons experience more than one dimension of loneliness-varying degrees coupled with their psychological well-being in a family context. This study explores the latent structure of loneliness during young adulthood and its association with psychological well-being, as well as how these are related to their family characteristics in adolescence. METHODS:Data are from 2,748 young people, a cohort sample from the Taiwan Youth Project (TYP). Loneliness was assessed by a 6-item de Jong-Gierveld short scale with emotional and social loneliness domains. We describe the clustering between loneliness domains and psychological well-being, namely depressive symptoms, self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, and alcohol use using latent class cluster analysis. In addition to incorporating the Taiwanese family context, multivariate multinomial logistic regression models included data on family cohesion and parental guan (parental control) in adolescence. This might be associated with choices in partnership and childbearing, and influence loneliness in young adulthood. RESULTS:Our results demonstrate a three-cluster model of loneliness involving emotional loners, serious emotional loners, and severe emotional/social loners. We also found that a feeling of serious emotional loneliness and severe emotional/social loneliness were significantly associated with psychological well-being, even adjusting for individual characteristics. Among young adults who had a partner, the married adults were significantly less likely to feel serious emotional loneliness than those who were living alone. Furthermore, young adults with stronger family cohesion during early adolescence were less likely to suffer from serious emotional loneliness (Relative risk ratios [RRR] 0.77, 95% CI 0.65-0.91) and severe emotional/social loneliness (RRR 0.54, 95% CI 0.34-0.85) in young adulthood. DISCUSSION:This measurement strategy provides a foundation for future research into how experts can address loneliness clusters in order to better understand psychological well-being during young adulthood and family context in adolescence. This is important because our results suggest that the various loneliness domains do not occur independently, but rather are embedded in patterns and are associated with family characteristics.

SUBMITTER: Chiao C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6544274 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Loneliness in young adulthood: Its intersecting forms and its association with psychological well-being and family characteristics in Northern Taiwan.

Chiao Chi C Chen Yu-Hua YH Yi Chin-Chun CC

PloS one 20190531 5

<h4>Objectives</h4>Most researchers have examined forms of loneliness as discrete and emotional distress. The approach proposed in this study captures the reality that many persons experience more than one dimension of loneliness-varying degrees coupled with their psychological well-being in a family context. This study explores the latent structure of loneliness during young adulthood and its association with psychological well-being, as well as how these are related to their family characteris ...[more]

PMID: 31150498

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Project description:Young people transition to adulthood via diverse pathways; among the most significant are those dominated by education, employment, or social disadvantage. These pathways are determined, to a large extent, by the level of well-being and autonomy young people develop to help them face their own realities. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between young people's psychological well-being and autonomy - key factors in the transition to adulthood - and the relationship these factors have with the main pathways followed during transition. To this end, Ryff's Model of Psychological Well-being and the Transition to Adulthood Autonomy Scale (EDATVA) were used to evaluate a total of 1148 Spanish and Colombian subjects aged between 16 and 21. Correlations and differences between scores were subsequently analyzed. Subjects were also asked to identify the most relevant aspect of their transition to adulthood as either education, employment, or social disadvantage. Results from all three pathways for transition to adulthood show a trend in which higher levels of well-being correspond to higher levels of autonomy. In general, the results for the young people on the education pathway show high levels of autonomy and well-being, as well as a significantly higher level of critical thinking compared to young people on other pathways. The scores from employed young people reveal a greater capacity for self-organization in relation to the other two pathways. The results for disadvantaged young people show significantly greater socio-political engagement than that of young people on the education and employment pathways. However, the disadvantaged group also displays the lowest level of psychological well-being. These results provide elements for a better understanding of young people's different transition pathways to adulthood and constitute an important point of reference for future research. They also provide data that may be relevant in guiding potential educational, psychological, and social interventions within this population group.

Dataset Information

Loneliness in young adulthood: Its intersecting forms and its association with psychological well-being and family characteristics in Northern Taiwan.

Publications

Loneliness in young adulthood: Its intersecting forms and its association with psychological well-being and family characteristics in Northern Taiwan.

Similar Datasets

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