{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T16:07:30Z","timestamp":1779379650402,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":66,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779321600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":50,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000269","name":"Economic and Social Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["ES\/X006026\/1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ES\/X006026\/1"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000269","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["bmjph"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,1]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Adolescents from low socioeconomic backgrounds report higher rates of loneliness than their peers from high socioeconomic backgrounds. Reasons for this vulnerability remain unclear. We investigated how peer bullying, family conflict, loneliness and social connection relate at different levels of socioeconomic marginalisation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Using data from the UK Household Longitudinal Survey (N=2531), we captured loneliness and social connection at 16\u201324 years and bullying and family conflict at 10\u201315 years. Network analysis tested item-level relationships while controlling for other variables. Previous investigations have not accounted for the exclusionary characteristics of low socioeconomic status, that is, socioeconomic marginalisation. We calculated a socioeconomic marginalisation score using publicly available data to assess an individual\u2019s income relative to their local community. We then compared loneliness and social connection networks to investigate potential differences.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The most central items in the full sample network were talking to family about worries, talking to friends about worries and relying on friends (16\u201324 years), as well as peer bullying (10\u201315 years). Distinct facets of loneliness were linked to specific social connection and bullying experiences. For example, feeling left out was associated with feeling let down by friends (w=\u22120.10) and feeling less understood by friends (w=\u22120.05). Whereas feeling isolated was associated with feeling less understood by family (w=\u22120.11) and less understood by friends (w=\u22120.04). Peer bullying related to feeling more left out (w=0.05) and more isolated (w=0.04). Some associations (eg, feeling less let down and less criticised by family) were stronger in the high socioeconomic marginalisation group, who also reported more severe bullying.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Evidence suggested family relationships remain important in late adolescence. Findings highlight the value of item-level dynamics for targeted support. In the context of public health policy, prevention and intervention measures should be tested that prioritise earlier bullying experiences and reflect the importance of both family and peer connection in late adolescence.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjph-2025-004053","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T15:35:39Z","timestamp":1779377739000},"page":"e004053","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Both family and peer relationships matter in late adolescence: a network analysis of loneliness and social connection in a UK cohort"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"4","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8188-6058","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kathryn E","family":"Bates","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King\u2019s College London, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9066-7241","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lara","family":"Acosta Siljestr\u00f6m","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King\u2019s College London, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amanah","family":"Bokhari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King\u2019s College London, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Leandra","family":"Gyekye","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King\u2019s College London, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jennifer Y F","family":"Lau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Queen Mary University of London, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3843-8887","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lauren","family":"Turner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King\u2019s College London, London, UK"},{"name":"Queen Mary University of London, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Delia","family":"Fuhrmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King\u2019s College London, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026052108352574000_4.2.e004053.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/geront\/gnaa082"},{"key":"2026052108352574000_4.2.e004053.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jrp.2005.11.007"},{"key":"2026052108352574000_4.2.e004053.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1038\/s41572-022-00355-9","article-title":"Loneliness and health","volume":"8","author":"Hawkley","year":"2022","journal-title":"Nat Rev Dis Primers"},{"key":"2026052108352574000_4.2.e004053.4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2014.0114","article-title":"Perceived social isolation, evolutionary fitness and health outcomes: a lifespan approach","volume":"370","author":"Hawkley","year":"2015","journal-title":"Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci"},{"key":"2026052108352574000_4.2.e004053.5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1745691614568352"},{"key":"2026052108352574000_4.2.e004053.6","unstructured":"DCSM . 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