Loneliness can feel like being the only elf left out of the workshop: even though there are people around, you still feel like no one is watching you. People often think of loneliness as a temporary feeling that comes and goes. But what if it’s not so short-lived for some young people? What if feeling isolated as a teen has long-term effects on mental health, changing not only how people feel but also the way they think about life?
Before diving into the research, it’s important to clear up a common misconception: living alone is not the same as being socially isolated. Social isolation is objective and can be measured by lack of social interaction, but loneliness is subjective. It is a feeling that comes from thinking that your relationships are not as meaningful or fulfilling as you would like.
Did you know that approximately 1 in 10 teens experience severe loneliness? Loneliness is also believed to be linked to mental health and suicide risk. Previous research has shown that feeling lonely can make you think about suicide, regardless of your income, living situation, and mental distress. One blog Said this link may be stronger among young people and men (Eagar, 2022).
Loneliness is also a major part of important psychological theories about suicide. The interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide posits that a feeling of being a burden, as well as a sense of disconnection from others, called failed belonging (a feeling of not really belonging anywhere), contribute to suicidal thoughts. But to go from thoughts to actions, you need more than that, like being able to tolerate pain better or be less afraid of death. This shows that loneliness is only one part of a much bigger picture.
Loneliness is common in adolescence, but when it becomes chronic, it can have lasting consequences on mental health and well-being.
methods
The Add Health study is a school-based, long-term survey conducted in the US that has tracked thousands of youth across time. Nearly 17,000 adolescents aged 11 to 21 were included and followed until adulthood. UCL researchers used Add Health study data to examine whether loneliness in adolescence was associated with suicidal thoughts at two time points: a 6-year and 13-year follow-up.
The researchers also took into account factors such as depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts in the past year. This will help ensure that loneliness itself causes suicidal thoughts and not some other factor.
Result
Sample
Data of 17,751 youth were included in the study. At the start of the study, about 1 in 12 (8%) reported feeling more lonely. Females aged 14–18, as well as women from minority ethnic backgrounds, were more likely to report feelings of loneliness.
Loneliness and suicidal thoughts (6-year follow-up and 13-year follow-up)
At a 6-year follow-up, youth who had previously reported loneliness were almost twice as likely to have suicidal thoughts as those who had not. However, this relationship was not statistically significant when researchers considered other variables, particularly depression, indicating that loneliness may not be the only factor contributing to the increased risk.
At 13-year follow-up, youth who had previously reported loneliness were 36% more likely to have suicidal thoughts than those who had not reported loneliness; However, this finding was statistically significant.
Final result
| outcome | 6 year follow-up | 13 year follow up |
| suicidal thoughts | increased possibilities; It is no longer significant after adjusting for depression. | Short link after adjustment |
| suicide attempts | no link | no link |
Role of depression and other factors
Subsequent investigation showed that the association between suicidal ideation and loneliness was primarily explained by pre-existing depressive symptoms rather than loneliness alone.
Overall, the results suggest that loneliness may be related to suicidal thoughts later in life, but this relationship is weak and mostly explained by depression. Additionally, loneliness does not appear to increase the likelihood of suicide attempts.
Loneliness in adolescence was associated with later suicidal ideation, but much of this association faded after depression and other factors were taken into account.
conclusion
- Loneliness in adolescents is associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation in later life, although this relationship is weak and largely diminishes when other factors are included.
- There is no evidence that loneliness increases the likelihood of suicide attempts at age 6 or 13.
- The results suggest that depression, rather than loneliness, plays a major role in explaining the association between loneliness and suicidal ideation.
- Overall, the findings suggest that intervention may be needed to address both depression and loneliness.
Loneliness alone cannot explain later suicide, which highlights the importance of broader mental health factors such as depression.
Strengths and limitations
A major strength is the longitudinal design of the Add Health cohort, which allows researchers to examine whether loneliness precedes suicidal ideation at a later time, rather than relying on a single time point. The study also benefits from a large sample size and relatively high retention, which reduces (but does not eliminate) the risk of attrition bias.
However, there are important limitations. A major issue is measurement quality: loneliness and suicidal ideation were assessed using single-item self-report questions, which oversimplify complex constructs and increase the risk of misclassification bias.
There is also the potential for residual confounding, particularly from depression and broader social factors. Although the study adjusted for baseline depressive symptoms, it could not fully account for how depression changes in severity or over time, meaning some effects may still overlap with loneliness. Despite being linked to both loneliness and suicidal thoughts, other factors such as socioeconomic deprivation, family-related stress and trauma were also not fully accounted for. Because of this, the observed relationship may partially reflect these unintended effects rather than solely loneliness.
Finally, because loneliness was measured at only one point in time, the study could not distinguish between chronic versus temporary loneliness, which may have very different effects on mental health outcomes.
While the study’s large, nationally representative sample is a major strength, its reliance on single-item measures of loneliness and suicidality limits how confidently we can interpret the findings.
Implications for practice
So what are the next steps, and what does this mean for future practice and research?
These results suggest that loneliness may still be an important early indicator of distress. Identifying adolescents struggling with loneliness can help professionals identify individuals who are more likely to experience mental health problems in the future. Early identification of depression and loneliness in places like educational institutions can lead to more prompt and focused support.
However, interventions should be careful not to treat loneliness in isolation, but rather as part of a broader mental health profile, as the association between loneliness and suicidal ideation was mostly explained by depressive symptoms.
It is also important to address both depression and loneliness to reduce suicidal thoughts. Therefore, strategies that integrate evidence-based mental health interventions with social support components may be particularly effective.
Schools, universities and youth mental health services should focus more on social connectedness and belonging, especially during adolescence when peer relationships become particularly important.
However, the lack of association with suicide attempts implies that reducing loneliness may not be sufficient to prevent more serious outcomes, underscoring the need for multilevel preventive strategies.
Future research should examine whether chronic loneliness, rather than temporary loneliness, is more strongly associated with suicide over time. Additionally, longitudinal research should attempt to better disentangle the direction of effects, that is, whether loneliness causes depression or whether early depressive symptoms cause loneliness.
Schools and youth services may benefit from considering loneliness as a warning sign, not an isolated problem.
Statement of Interests
As MSc Clinical Mental Health Sciences students at UCL, we wish to clarify that although some of the individuals involved in the research discussed are UCL faculty, we have no direct involvement in the study, its review, or publication. This blog was created independently of our course and reflects our interpretation. We have no conflicts of interest beyond our academic relationship with the study. We acknowledge the use of ChatGPT to proofread the final draft.
Contributors
thanks to UCL Mental Health MSc Students from Wood Student Group who wrote this blog: Anna Mylona, Annabel Gerard-Pierce and Jana Sobh.
UCL MSc in Mental Health Studies
This blog is written by a group of students Clinical Mental Health Sciences MSc University College London. A full list of UCL MSc student blogs can be found here.
We regularly publish blogs written by individual students or groups of students studying at universities who subscribe to the National Elf service. If you would like to find out how this could work for your university, contact us.
edited by
Dr. Daffney Katsampa.
Link
primary paper
Jin, Y., Kislich, K., Hall, A., and Pittman, A. (2026). The relationship between loneliness and suicidal thoughts and attempts in adolescence and young adulthood: A longitudinal analysis of a nationally representative US sample. Archives of Suicide Research, 30(1), 66-79. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2025.2489159
Other references
Egger, S. (2022, June 20). Is the relationship between loneliness and suicide different for men and women? National Yogini Service. https://www.nationalelfservice.net/mental-health/suicide/loneliness-suicidal-ideation/
Surkalim, D.L., Luo, M., Ares, R., Gabel, K., Van Buskirk, J., Baumann, A., and Ding, D. (2022). Prevalence of loneliness in 113 countries: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ, 376, e067068. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2021-067068
