Open Access

ARTICLE

How does Maternal Absence Affect Adolescent Loneliness? The Role of Rejection Sensitivity and Friendship Quality

Jiani Zang¹, Jingxin Zhao², Shufen Xing^1,*

1 School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
2 School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250300, China

* Corresponding Author: Shufen Xing. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Family Risk Factors and Child & Adolescent Mental Health: Perspectives from the Chinese Cultural Context)

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion 2026, 28(2), 2 https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2025.074636

Received 15 October 2025; Accepted 15 December 2025; Issue published 27 February 2026

Abstract

Objectives: Loneliness among left-behind adolescents is the most frequently reported emotional problem because of parental neglect. The present study explored the relationship between maternal absence and adolescent loneliness as well as its mechanisms. Methods: The study included 305 participants (Mean_age = 15.99 ± 0.81, 48.9% females) in southeast China, and constructed a chain mediation model to test the roles of rejection sensitivity and friendship quality. Parent absence types, rejection sensitivity, friendship quality, and adolescent loneliness were all assessed with questionnaires. Results: The results showed that adolescents with a mother absent (both-parent absent, mother-only absent) experienced higher levels of loneliness than those with a mother not absent (father-only absent, non-parent absent) (β = 0.3137, 95%CI [0.0849, 0.5425], p < 0.01). Besides, the mediating roles of rejection sensitivity (β = 0.0344, 95%CI [0.0020, 0.0808]) and friendship quality (β = 0.1198, 95% CI [0.0049, 0.2428]) and their chain mediating role were found significant between maternal absence and loneliness (β = 0.0245, 95% CI [0.0015, 0.0575]). Conclusions: These findings have revealed the significant impact of maternal absence on adolescent loneliness and provide important practical implications for educators to reduce adolescent loneliness.

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Keywords

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