Adolescents with psychotic experiences at risk for loneliness

Loneliness may signal underlying psychotic experiences among adolescents, according to results of a population-based birth cohort study published in Schizophrenia Research.

However, it did not seem to be an antecedent to these symptoms, researchers noted.

“Recent meta-analyses revealed that loneliness was significantly associated with the presence of psychotic experiences in the general population, as well as psychotic symptoms in people diagnosed with a psychotic disorder,” Kaori Endo, of the Research Center for Social Science & Medicine at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science in Japan, and colleagues wrote. “However, these associations were based on cross-sectional observations, which could not be used to determine whether adolescents were more likely to first report loneliness or psychotic experiences. Understanding these longitudinal associations can help clarify whether loneliness is more likely to be an etiological mechanism or psychosocial consequence of psychotic experiences among adolescents.”

To help address the lack of prospective longitudinal studies in this research area, the investigators used data from the Tokyo Teen Cohort, a population-based birth cohort study, to examine the longitudinal association between the presence of psychotic experiences and loneliness among 3,171 adolescents. They examined psychotic experiences and loneliness at ages 10, 12 and 14 years.

Results of linear regression analyses showed a significant longitudinal association between psychotic experiences and subsequent loneliness following adjustment for demographic characteristics and potential confounding factors. The researchers noted no significant association between preceding loneliness and later psychotic experiences.

“Our study revealed that psychotic experiences may lead adolescents to feel lonely,” Endo and colleagues wrote. “The reverse association between loneliness and later psychotic experiences was non-significant, suggesting that subjective loneliness may not contribute directly to psychosis etiology. Clinicians and school teachers should assess for, and pay careful attention to, the presence of any psychotic experiences in early adolescents who report loneliness.”