Loneliness, life satisfaction and psychological distress among out-of-school adolescents in a Nigerian urban city

Abstract

Loneliness is the feeling of distress that arises when an individual perceives his or her social relationships as being less satisfying than what is desired. Life satisfaction is a global assessment of an individual's quality of life based on his chosen criteria. This descriptive cross sectional study assessed loneliness, life satisfaction and psychological distress among 480 out of school adolescents using the UCLA loneliness scale, the Satisfaction with life scale (SWLS) and the General Health questionnaire. Reasons for out of school are poverty (45.0%), eager to do business (30.0%) and death of parents (20.0%). 25.8% experienced frequent loneliness while 24.2% had psychological distress. Findings were discussed in line with literature reviewed and recommendations made.

Keywords: Loneliness; life satisfaction; out-of-school adolescents; psychological distress.