Abstract
Social connections can act as a protective factor against long term consequences impacting the physical and emotional well-being of youth. This purpose for this study was to explore youth-reported levels of social connectedness prior to discharge from psychiatric inpatient care. A questionnaire was developed and administered in a cross-sectional survey to capture youths’ ratings of peer problems and social connectedness or loneliness. Participants were 161 youth (mean age 15 years, 75% female) accessing inpatient psychiatric treatment for a variety of mental illnesses (57% with a primary diagnosis of major depression). Almost 42% of the patients reported that they would rather be alone, almost 45% reported being bullied and almost 60% reported that they were concerned about peer problems when thinking about their return to school following hospitalization for psychiatric treatment. Overall, many youth reported difficulties with peers, having few friends and wanting to be alone. Many youth may benefit from the assistance of social workers and school personnel to develop and sustain desired friendships.