Loneliness in High Risk Adolescents: The Role of Coping, Self-Esteem, and Empathy

In this study, we examine the relationships among types of loneliness, empathy, coping skills, and self-esteem among a sample of high risk adolescents enrolled in an alternative high school in the United States (N = 75; 43 male and 32 female; mean age, 17 years). Results of two forward-selection multiple regression analyses with intimate loneliness and social loneliness serving as criterion variables, and with self-esteem, empathy, perspective taking, and five types of coping serving as predictor variables, revealed that low self-esteem and low social coping significantly predicted high intimate and high social loneliness. Low emotional coping also significantly predicted high intimate loneliness but not high social loneliness. Implications for intervention and research are discussed.