ABSTRACT
Loneliness is less studied than victimisation and has received far less public attention during the last decades. As summarised by Peplau and Perlman [21], defi nitions on loneliness typically comprise an unpleasant or distressing subjective experience of defi ciencies in a person’s social relationships. The distinction between loneliness and aloneness is crucial [22]; aloneness may give time for refl ection and rest, whereas loneliness is a negative and hurtful feeling [23,24]. In line with the fi ndings in research on victimisation, it has been shown that loneliness is related to mental health and adjustment problems [25]. There is strong evidence that loneliness is related to anxiety [26-28] and depression [29-31], but few studies have reported associations between loneliness and somatic symptoms [1]. Loneliness among children and adolescents has been studied mainly in the school setting, and few researchers have tested initiatives to buffer feelings of loneliness [32-34]. Furthermore, as far as we are aware, no studies have reported on relational trust as a potential to reduce harmful effects of loneliness in school.
