Prevalence and associated factors of loneliness among a national sample of in-school adolescents in Morocco
Abstract
The goal of the study was to estimate the prevalence and correlates of loneliness among adolescents in Morocco. Data were analysed from 6 745 school adolescents (median age = 15 years) that participated in the 2016 Morocco cross-sectional Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS). Results show that the prevalence of loneliness was 19.8%; 15.0% among males and 25.1% among females. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, older age, girls, bullied, not having any close friends, anxiety-related sleep problems, frequent involvement in physical fighting, frequently experiencing hunger, low peer support, high sedentary behaviour during leisure time, and multiple serious injuries were associated with loneliness. The fact that one in five students reported loneliness calls for learner support intervention strategies for promoting their psychosocial and behavioural health well-being.
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The prevalence of loneliness among Indonesian female adolescents is lower than that reported in ASEAN countries (7.8%), some African countries (Morocco 25.1%, Tanzania 17.4%), Latin American and Caribbean countries (14.6%), the USA (14.4%), and Russia (14.7%).
“This finding is lower than that reported among female adolescents in ASEAN countries at 7.8% [8] and is even significantly lower than in some African countries, such as Morocco (25.1%) [6] and Tanzania (17.4%) [7]. It is also significantly lower than in the Latin American and the Caribbean countries (14.6%) [5], as well as the USA (14.4%) and Russia (14.7%) [27].”
From Prevalence and factors associated with loneliness among Indonesian female adolescents: a cross-sectional study (2022) · cites this paper as [6]
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Marthoenis, Dahlia, & Nassimbwa, J. (2022) · BMC Women's Health · doi:10.1186/s12905-022-01909-5 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“The significant contribution of positive social relationships has also been consistently reported elsewhere [5, 6, 11], and our study shows that adolescent girls without close friends are 3.”
BackgroundResultInfluential
- Authors
- Pengpid, S., & Peltzer, K.
- Affiliations
- Mahidol University (TH)
- Asia University (TW)
- Corresponding author
- Peltzer, Karl
- Venue
- Journal of Psychology in Africa
- Publisher
- Tech Science Press
- Published
- 2021-05-04
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 303-309
- ISSN
- 1433-0237 (ISSN-L)
- 1815-5626
- OpenAlex
- W3176584116
- Cited by
- 13
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2022: 3
- FWCI
- 0.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Psychology in Africa (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression
- Keywords
- loneliness, adolescents, prevalence, risk factors, bullying, peer support, sleep disorders, physical fighting, hunger, sedentary behavior, injuries, gender differences, Morocco
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