Understanding individual and social pathways to loneliness in young people from socio-economically marginalised background

Loneliness is the unwelcome feeling of social isolation. While research and policy have focused mainly on loneliness in the elderly, loneliness is more common in youth than in other age groups. The UK government estimates that 11% of young people feel lonely often or always, and 26% feel lonely at least sometimes. Research in adults shows that socio-economic marginalisation (characterized by poverty and lack of educational and occupational opportunities) doubles the occurrence of loneliness, yet loneliness in young people from socio-economically marginalised young people is little understood.

To address these issues, the UNITE project adopts a multi-methods approach that combines analyses of quantitative and qualitative data. To realize the research programme and produce an effective step-change in our understanding of youth loneliness, the project also brings together the expertise of academics, charities working with young people, and young people themselves.This will help us understand the social and cognitive pathways to loneliness that can ultimately be targeted in effective interventions to support young people from socio-economically marginalised backgrounds.

The project is a collaboration between King’s College London and Queen Many University London and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council

Find out more:

• Read an article on loneliness after leaving school written by our team, and published by The Mix charity

Project Team

Dr Delia Fuhrmann
Principal Investigator
King’s College London, UK

Dr Kathryn Bates
Co-Investigator
King’s College London, UK

Prof Jennifer Lau
Co-Investigator
Queen Mary University London, UK

Ms Lauren Turner
Research Assistant
Queen Mary University London, UK

Ms Amanah Bokhari
Young Person Co-Researcher

Ms Leandra Gyekye
Young Person Co-Researcher

To contact the team, please visit https://life-map-lab.com/team/.

Charity Consultants

• The Campaign to End Loneliness

• The Centre for Youth Impact

• The Future Leaders Programme

• The McPin Foundation

Thank you!

This project is funded by Economic and Social Research Council.

We thank our Steering Committee members: Manuela Barreto, Faheem Khan, Helen MacIntyre, Tanya Mackay, Kaz Stuart & Juliet Young.

Find support:

If you are affected by any of the issues investigated in UNITE, you can access support from following external organisations:

• The NHS provides resources, links and phone numbers for loneliness support in the UK.

• The Campaign to End Loneliness provides information about loneliness as well as advice and support.

• The Mix Charity is a UK support service for young people. They provide support on a range of issues, including mental health, money, homelessness and finding a job. You can connect to their online community, on social, through their free, confidential helpline or counselling service.