A new Department for Culture, Media and Sport research study has used data from Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study, led by a team of scientific experts at ISER, to provide evidence for improving social connection for those most at risk of loneliness and its harmful consequences.
“Drawing on robust national survey data, this research identifies the specific risk and protective factors that shape how boys and young men experience loneliness, isolation and social connection, to inform how interventions may be most effectively targeted to mitigate the harms of loneliness and support improved outcomes for boys and young men.”
“Boys and young men face specific risks linked to loneliness, yet wider research suggests they may be less likely to report these experiences because of stigma. This means loneliness among this group may be underestimated, despite evidence that it is associated with poorer mental health, social difficulties and harmful behaviours. To better understand the extent and nature of loneliness, isolation and social connection among boys and young men in England, this research draws on national survey data from Understanding Society (waves 14 and 15, collected between 2022 and 2025) and the Mental Health of Children and Young People survey (MHCYP wave 4, collected in 2023).”
“This report uses data from Understanding Society and the Mental Health of Children and Young People (MHCYP) survey. These surveys offer complementary strengths. Understanding Society provides detailed information on social connection, bullying and wellbeing across ages 10 to 25. MHCYP offers richer measures of mental health, including validated wellbeing and behavioural scales, and covers ages 11 to 25. Together, they provide the most comprehensive recent evidence on loneliness among boys and young men in England.”
“Understanding Society measures both loneliness and isolation and whilst experiences of loneliness were more common, the two experiences overlapped strongly. Most boys and young men who reported feeling lonely also said they felt isolated. This overlap informed the analytical approach throughout the report, which focuses primarily on loneliness while presenting isolation patterns where relevant. Because survey questions and response categories differed across datasets, findings should be interpreted as complementary rather than directly comparable.”
Read the Executive Summary and findings here