THE lonely CHILDREN
More than 1 in 10 children in Britain aged 10 to 15 years old experience regular periods of loneliness
NEARLY half a million children across Great Britain are struggling with loneliness on a regular basis, new figures have revealed. A report from the Office for National Statistics has shown that nationally, one in every nine children aged 10-15 often feel lonely.
That works out as more than 485,000 children across the country.
Boys (13%) are more likely to feel lonely often than girls (10%), and younger children aged 10-12 (14%) are more likely to be lonely than older children aged 13-15 (9%).
The figures also show that a number of social and economic factors have an alarmingly significant impact on children’s loneliness.
For instance, children receiving free school meals - the most deprived - are around five times as likely to feel lonely often (28%), compared with those who are more affluent (6%).
The figures also reveal that the family dynamic plays an important role in whether children are lonely.
More than a third of children who were unhappy with their family situation suffered often from loneliness (35%).
The figures also revealed that where children live affects their loneliness.
A fifth of children living in cities reported feeling lonely often (20%) around four times greater than those in towns (5%) or rural areas (6%).
Children most likely to feel lonely were those experiencing problems with friendships.
Some 41% of 10-15 year olds unsatisfied with their friendship circles felt lonely often - the highest proportion in the report.
The government initiative behind the report comes in response to recommendations from the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness.
While many people feel lonely from time to time, research has shown that those suffering from loneliness often or all the time can experience serious impacts to their health, both mentally and physically.
Perhaps alarmingly, the proportion of 10-15 year olds who often feel lonely is in fact slightly higher than for those aged 16-24 (10%).
This may be at least partly explained by the fact that younger children may undergo friendship changes during the move from primary to secondary school.
Tom Madders, director of campaigns at Young Minds, said: “Teenagers go through periods of increased change, so it is normal for them to feel isolated, introspective or misunderstood at times.
“Living much of your life on social media means that you can be extremely well connected, but this doesn’t necessarily stop you being lonely.
“Feeling lonely isn’t itself a mental health problem, but it can have a negative impact on your mental health. “When young people do struggle with their mental health, it is still far too difficult for them to find support. “We desperately need to see increased funding for child and adolescent mental health services in the forthcoming NHS Long Term Plan.
“Alongside this, we also need action to fill the gaps in youth and community services that could provide help early on, before young people require more specialist treatment.”