Disadvantaged children far more likely to feel lonely, says ONS report
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published a study on loneliness among children and young people. Statisticians found that 27.5% of children who received free school meals said they were “often” lonely, compared with 5.5% of those who did not. Other findings included:
- 11.3% of children said that they were “often” lonely; this was more common among younger children aged 10 to 12 years (14.0%) than among those aged 13 to 15 years (8.6%).
- 27.5% of children who received free school meals said they were “often” lonely, compared with 5.5% of those who did not.
- 19.5% of children living in a city reported “often” feeling lonely, compared with just over 5% of those living in either towns or rural areas.
- Children who reported “low” satisfaction with their health said they “often” felt lonely (28.3%), compared with those who had “medium, high or very high” satisfaction (about 10%).
- Children who reported “low” satisfaction with their relationships with family and friends were also more likely to say they were “often” lonely (34.8% and 41.1%, respectively)
Commenting, Dawn Snape from the ONS said the study would provide more information about how loneliness might affect people’s health and well-being. She said:
“We’ve looked at how often children and young people feel lonely and why. An important factor is going through transitional life stages such as the move from primary to secondary school and, later, leaving school or higher education and adapting to early adult life.”
Read the full report here.