Open Access

ARTICLE

Protective Factors for Loneliness among Adolescents during COVID-19: Role of the Interpersonal Relationships and Sibling Status

Sha Shen¹, Saidi Wang^2,*, Md Zahir Ahmed³, Fatema Akhter Hiramoni⁴, Jingrong Sha¹, Xiangdong Yan⁵, Mary C. Jobe⁶ and Oli Ahmed⁷

1 College of Educational Science and Technology, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, 730030, China
2 Gansu 24 Refractive New Media Technology Co., Ltd., Lanzhou, 730030, China
3 School of Psychology, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, 730070, China
4 Department of Economics, Sheikh Hasina University, Netrokona, 2410, Bangladesh
5 Shanghai Hui Ye (Lanzhou) Law Office, Lanzhou, 730030, China
6 Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington DC, 20052, USA
7 Department of Psychology, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, 4331, Bangladesh

* Corresponding Author:Saidi Wang. Email:

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion 2021, 23(4), 499-511. https://doi.org/10.32604/IJMHP.2021.018661

Received 09 August 2021; Accepted 08 September 2021; Issue published 28 October 2021

Abstract

This study examined the moderating effects of parent-child, same-sex, opposite-sex and teacher-student relationships between sibling status and loneliness during COVID-19. A total of 1,591 adolescents in China completed the study questionnaires which assessed the aforementioned variables. The results showed that same-sex and teacherstudent relationships moderated the association between sibling status and loneliness. The results indicated that among participants with good same-sex relationships during COVID-19, compared to non-only-children participants, the only-children participants were more likely to experience a lower level of loneliness. However, participants with poor same-sex relationships experienced similar level of loneliness regardless of whether they had siblings. These findings would be helpful for parents, teachers, and other stakeholders to take effective measures to reduce loneliness feelings among Chinese adolescents.

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Keywords

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