{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]],"date-time":"2026-05-18T06:07:30Z","timestamp":1779084450854,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]],"date-time":"2026-05-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779062400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"\n Objective<\/jats:title>\n The phenomenon of childhood loneliness extends beyond its implications for psychological development, potentially exerting significant effects on mental health and social adaptation. This study investigates the impact of intimate partner violence (IPV), perceived stress, and media exposure on childhood loneliness, offering empirical evidence to enhance understanding and inform strategies to address this issue.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n This study adopted a cross-sectional survey design and employed stratified and quota sampling techniques to select children\u2019s hospitals across 18 provinces and municipalities in mainland China. Participants were assessed for intimate partner violence using the IPV scale, perceived stress using the Perceived Stress Scale-4 (PSS-4), media exposure using the Media Exposure Scale, and loneliness using the Three-Item Loneliness Scale (T-ILS). Sociodemographic characteristics of the participants were also collected. The analysis employed Antonovsky\u2019s sense of coherence (SOC) model, along with univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses, to investigate the factors influencing loneliness.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n A total of 4,404 questionnaires were collected, with male participants comprising 53.07% and female participants comprising 46.93% of the sample. The mean age of the participants was 13.60\u202fyears, with a standard deviation (SD) of 2.85\u202fyears. The mean scores for loneliness, intimate partner violence, perceived stress, and media exposure were 4.70 (SD\u202f=\u202f1.70), 7.42 (SD\u202f=\u202f3.03), 6.55 (SD\u202f=\u202f2.82), and 21.28 (SD\u202f=\u202f5.89), respectively. Loneliness was positively correlated with intimate partner violence (\n r<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.320,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001), perceived stress (\n r<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.454,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001), and media exposure (\n r<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.141,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001). A multivariate regression analysis indicated that intimate partner violence (\n \u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.102,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001), perceived stress (\n \u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.225,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001), and media exposure (\n \u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.028,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001) were significant predictors of loneliness.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n Intimate partner violence, perceived stress, and media exposure have significant effects on loneliness among Chinese children. Interventions aimed at improving family environments, enhancing resilience to stress, and guiding appropriate media use may effectively reduce loneliness and promote healthy child development.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1798442","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]],"date-time":"2026-05-18T05:39:46Z","timestamp":1779082786000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Analysis of the current state and influencing factors of loneliness among Chinese children aged 8\u201318\u202fyears"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Lijie","family":"Yang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University","place":["Harbin, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jing","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Pharmacy, Xuzhou Medical University","place":["Xuzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yuehang","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University","place":["Harbin, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ming","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University","place":["Harbin, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jiming","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University","place":["Harbin, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yang","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University","place":["Harbin, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Zhongmei","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University","place":["Harbin, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ximu","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, Beijing Children's Hospital, National Center for Children's Health, Capital Medical University","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Han","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, Beijing Children's Hospital, National Center for Children's Health, Capital Medical University","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xiaolin","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, Beijing Children's Hospital, National Center for Children's Health, Capital Medical University","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e3573","DOI":"10.1590\/1518-8345.5641.3573","article-title":"Impact of digital social media on the perception of loneliness and social isolation in older adults","volume":"30","author":"Kusumota","year":"2022","journal-title":"Rev Lat Am Enfermagem"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1101","DOI":"10.1007\/s00127-018-1636-5","article-title":"The rural children's loneliness and depression in Henan, China: the mediation effect of self-concept","volume":"54","author":"Xu","year":"2019","journal-title":"Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"34","DOI":"10.1186\/s13030-023-00291-4","article-title":"Burden of care and a sense of loneliness in caregivers of children with type 1 diabetes. A cross-sectional study","volume":"17","author":"Kobos","year":"2023","journal-title":"Biopsychosoc Med"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2201","DOI":"10.1007\/s00127-025-02834-2","article-title":"Loneliness and health-related quality of life in Chinese adolescents: the mediating role of depressive symptoms and the moderating role of age","volume":"60","author":"Hu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1186\/s13034-025-00947-9","article-title":"Targeting childhood loneliness in China: in silico interventions and moderated network analysis","volume":"19","author":"Yu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"148","DOI":"10.1007\/s10964-017-0685-5","article-title":"Developmental change in loneliness and attitudes toward aloneness in adolescence","volume":"47","author":"Danneel","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Youth Adolesc"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"313","DOI":"10.1111\/bjc.12331","article-title":"Loneliness and mental health in children and adolescents with pre-existing mental health problems: a rapid systematic review","volume":"61","author":"Hards","year":"2022","journal-title":"Br J Clin Psychol"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"119369","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2025.05.029","article-title":"Associations between adherence to 24-hour movement guidelines with depression, anxiety, and loneliness among Chinese adolescents","volume":"385","author":"Hua","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Affect Disord"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.16187\/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2023.03.16","article-title":"Changes in adolescent loneliness in China from 2001 to 2019: A cross-temporal meta-analysis perspective","volume":"39","author":"Peng","year":"2023","journal-title":"Psychological Development and Education"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-031-89568-5","volume-title":"The Hitchhiker's Guide to Salutogenesis","author":"Eriksson","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"45","DOI":"10.1038\/s44184-025-00144-8","article-title":"Prevalence and psychiatric correlates of loneliness in UK university students","volume":"4","author":"Akram","year":"2025","journal-title":"Npj Ment Health Res"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"59","DOI":"10.30773\/pi.2020.0208","article-title":"Perceived stress, positive resources and their interactions as possible related factors for depressive symptoms","volume":"18","author":"Huh","year":"2021","journal-title":"Psychiatry Investig"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"13037","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-023-39572-x","article-title":"Perceived control, loneliness, early-life stress, and parents\u2019 perceptions of stress","volume":"13","author":"Smith","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"303","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-clinpsy-072720-013634","article-title":"Developmental consequences of intimate partner violence on children","volume":"19","author":"Bogat","year":"2023","journal-title":"Annu Rev Clin Psychol"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"NP20898","DOI":"10.1177\/08862605211055147","article-title":"Witnessing intimate partner violence as a child and associated consequences","volume":"37","author":"Stiller","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Interpers Violence"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"333","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pedhc.2022.12.007","article-title":"Intimate partner violence and children: essentials for the pediatric nurse practitioner","volume":"37","author":"Hornor","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Pediatr Health Care"},{"key":"ref17","first-page":"82","article-title":"Correlation of children\u2019s internet use duration with loneliness and depression","volume-title":"Modern Preventive Medicine","author":"Wang","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"385","DOI":"10.2307\/2136404","article-title":"A global measure of perceived stress","volume":"24","author":"Cohen","year":"1983","journal-title":"J Health Soc Behav"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"683","DOI":"10.1186\/s12888-024-06131-1","article-title":"Relationship between personality and adolescent depression: the mediating role of loneliness and problematic internet use","volume":"24","author":"Fu","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e041921","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2020-041921","article-title":"Adapting the UCLA 3-item loneliness scale for community-based depressive symptoms screening interview among older Chinese: a cross-sectional study","volume":"10","author":"Liu","year":"2020","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"58","DOI":"10.1177\/15248380241275976","article-title":"The associations between intimate partner violence and mental health outcomes among sexual minority men: a systematic review and Meta-analysis","volume":"26","author":"Hong","year":"2025","journal-title":"Trauma Violence Abuse"},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1562","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-022-13990-4","article-title":"Being silenced, loneliness and being heard: understanding pathways to intimate partner violence & abuse in young adults. A mixed-methods study","volume":"22","author":"Barnes","year":"2022","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"172","DOI":"10.1186\/s12888-024-05609-2","article-title":"Associations of perceived stress with loneliness and depressive symptoms: the mediating role of sleep quality","volume":"24","author":"Wang","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e54282","DOI":"10.2196\/54282","article-title":"Effects of a digital mental health intervention on perceived stress and rumination in adolescents aged 13 to 17 years: randomized controlled trial","volume":"26","author":"Boucher","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Med Internet Res"},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4296","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph20054296","article-title":"Strong correlations between social appearance anxiety, use of social media, and feelings of loneliness in adolescents and young adults","volume":"20","author":"Papapanou","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"key":"ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1108467","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2023.1108467","article-title":"The double-edged sword effects of active social media use on loneliness: the roles of interpersonal satisfaction and fear of missing out","volume":"14","author":"Mao","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"13","DOI":"10.1186\/s40359-023-01498-4","article-title":"The relationship between loneliness and problematic social media usage in Chinese university students: a longitudinal study","volume":"12","author":"Wu","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Psychol"},{"key":"ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"83","DOI":"10.54254\/2753-7048\/2025.22816","article-title":"Social media use and loneliness among the young generation: a review of psychological mechanisms","volume":"86","author":"Xia","year":"2025","journal-title":"Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media"},{"key":"ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3067","DOI":"10.2147\/PRBM.S467221","article-title":"The relationship between loneliness and the overuse of WeChat among Chinese elderly: the chain mediation role of sensation seeking and fear of missing out","volume":"17","author":"Cui","year":"2024","journal-title":"Psychol Res Behav Manag"},{"key":"ref30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e21","DOI":"10.1111\/cdev.13982","article-title":"Peer relationships mediate the pathways from behavioral qualities to United States and Chinese children's loneliness","volume":"95","author":"Zhang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Child Dev"},{"key":"ref31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e57907","DOI":"10.2196\/57907","article-title":"The moderated mediating effects of social media identity and loneliness on the relationship between problematic internet use and mental health in China: nationwide cross-sectional questionnaire study","volume":"27","author":"Liu","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Med Internet Res"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public Health"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1798442\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]],"date-time":"2026-05-18T05:39:48Z","timestamp":1779082788000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1798442\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]]},"references-count":31,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1798442"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1798442","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-2565"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-2565","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]]},"article-number":"1798442"}}