Social Connectedness
The theme of social connectedness is part of the research within Youth Studies and is divided into three sub-themes:
Subthema 1: Support
Relationships with parents and other supportive adults have a significant influence on young people's development. We investigate how these relationships relate to mental health, young people's relationships with others, and their online and offline behaviour. In addition, we investigate differences in support between families and (national) contexts, as well as changes in support over time.
Subthema 2: Loneliness
Long-lasting, intense, or frequent loneliness predicts impaired mental health among youth. With our research we aim to improve our understanding of what causes loneliness among youth and, how loneliness can be eased. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, we examine causes and mechanisms (e.g., not fitting in with social norms, insecure attachment), how such processes differ across contexts (e.g., cultures, gender) and synthesise existing data in meta-analyses.
Subthema 3: Peers
Peer relationships can provide youth with social support and belonging. Social acceptance and group norms are very relevant during adolescence, however, sometimes these social dynamics also foster risk behaviours such as substance use, or lead to exclusion, bullying, or loneliness. To understand how to promote healthy peer relationships, we examine both positive and negative aspects of peer relationship processes.
Examples of our research
Why do you keep feeling lonely? Examining reasons for chronic loneliness across cultures.
Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBS) HBSC-the Netherlands is a national study on the health and welfare of students.
TRAILS TRAILS (Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey) is an ongoing, multidisciplinary research on the psychological, social and physical development of adolescents and young adults.
the MASLO project (in Dutch) The MASLO (Meta-Analytic Study of Loneliness) project is a large database containing all studies on loneliness (in which loneliness was measured using a standardised questionnaire).
