Lonelier Number

In the journal Adolescent & Family Health, Paula L. Antognoli-Toland seeks to explore the connections between family relationships, family structure, and adolescent loneliness. Here main findings are twofold. First, "family structure was a significant predictor" of teenage loneliness: "Adolescents in one parent and blended families were likelier to be lonely compared to teens in intact families." For example, about 59 percent of adolescents living in intact homes reported being "not lonely," compared to only 30 percent of adolescents in one-parent homes.

Second, some of the risks of loneliness associated with living in a one-parent home are "mediated" by close parent-child relationships - that is, irrespective of living arrangements, warm parent-child relationships reduce the likelihood of teen loneliness. Fair (and obvious) enough. At times Antognoli-Toland seems close to veering away from her evidence, as when she suddenly declares, apropos of nothing, that it is "not true" that living in a one-parent home is an "obstacle" to close parent-child relationships. No, not an absolute obstacle, but certainly an influential experience that, as her own data dramatically reveal, shifts probabilities for teenagers in a negative direction. But in the final analysis, Antognoli-Toland faces the issue squarely: "Lonely adolescents were more likely to live in one parent or blended family structures, supporting the assertion that differences in family structure may predispose individuals to deficits in relational networks." Translation: Family fragmentation tends to undermine family connectedness and weaken parent-child bonds, thus increasing the likelihood of children being lonely.

Sources: Paula L. Antognoli-Toland, "Parent-Child Relationship, Family Structure, and Loneliness Among Adolescents," Adolescent & Family Health 2, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 20-26.

First published Spring/Summer 2001.