@Article{ijmhp.2025.074636,
AUTHOR = {Jiani Zang, Jingxin Zhao, Shufen Xing},
TITLE = {How does Maternal Absence Affect Adolescent Loneliness? The Role of Rejection Sensitivity and Friendship Quality},
JOURNAL = {International Journal of Mental Health Promotion},
VOLUME = {28},
YEAR = {2026},
NUMBER = {2},
PAGES = {0--0},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/IJMHP/v28n2/66405},
ISSN = {2049-8543},
ABSTRACT = {<b>Objectives:</b> 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. <b>Methods:</b> The study included 305 participants (Mean<sub>age</sub> = 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. <b>Results:</b> 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], <i>p</i> < 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]). <b>Conclusions:</b> These findings have revealed the significant impact of maternal absence on adolescent loneliness and provide important practical implications for educators to reduce adolescent loneliness.},
DOI = {10.32604/ijmhp.2025.074636}
}