Network analysis of loneliness, mental, and physical health in Czech adolescents.

IF 3.4 3区医学 Q1 PEDIATRICS

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health Pub Date : 2025-03-28 DOI:10.1186/s13034-025-00884-7

Zdenek Meier, Jakub Helvich, Jana Furstova, Lukas Novak, Dana Purova, Radka Zidkova, Peter Tavel

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: The increasing urgency to address rising loneliness among adolescents has become a critical issue, underscoring the need for further studies on its association with mental and physical health. The objective was to examine the changes in loneliness and its relation to mental and physical health issues in three adolescent age groups.

Methods: A total sample of 14,588 Czech pupils (50.7% boys, mean age 13.6 ± 1.7 years) in grades 5, 7 and 9 was used from a representative dataset of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. The network analysis based on undirected graphical models was used as an exploratory technique to assess and test the structure of the data.

Results: The association between loneliness and health decreased with age. There was a significant positive association between loneliness, feeling low, and irritability. No significant direct association between loneliness and physical health complaints was found.

Conclusion: Further studies, preferably of longitudinal character, are needed to confirm the changes in associations between loneliness and mental and physical health outcomes.

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来源期刊

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health PEDIATRICSPSYCHIATRY-PSYCHIATRY

CiteScore

7.00

自引率

3.60%

发文量

审稿时长

16 weeks

期刊介绍： Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, the official journal of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions, is an open access, online journal that provides an international platform for rapid and comprehensive scientific communication on child and adolescent mental health across different cultural backgrounds. CAPMH serves as a scientifically rigorous and broadly open forum for both interdisciplinary and cross-cultural exchange of research information, involving psychiatrists, paediatricians, psychologists, neuroscientists, and allied disciplines. The journal focusses on improving the knowledge base for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of mental health conditions in children and adolescents, and aims to integrate basic science, clinical research and the practical implementation of research findings. In addition, aspects which are still underrepresented in the traditional journals such as neurobiology and neuropsychology of psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence are considered.