Studies have demonstrated that a prolonged feeling of loneliness is a major risk factor for psychopathology among children and adolescents. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between patterns of social media use with loneliness and psychopathology among 65 adolescents who were diagnosed with psychiatric disorders and treated at a psychiatric outpatient clinic in Israel. Social capital (online and offline) was negatively associated with loneliness. There was no association between loneliness and patterns of social media use, age, gender, psychiatric diagnosis, or disease severity. Our findings indicate that both online and offline social capital are associated with loneliness, and highlight the importance of studying the effect of peer online social support in alleviating loneliness.
Keywords: adolescents; loneliness; psychiatry; social media; social network sites.