Relación entre la salud mental y la percepción de soledad en una muestra de adolescentes

Abstract

Abstract: Mental health represents a state of well-being, which allows the satisfaction of environmental demands and the enjoyment of personal resources. On the other hand, loneliness is a negative emotion that can alter mental health. Therefore, the aim of this research was to relate mental health and the perception of loneliness in a sample of adolescents. A quantitative correlational methodology was used, with an accessibility sample of 330 Ecuadorian adolescents. The instruments used were: AD Hoc Questionnaire, Lovibond and Lovibond's Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (Dass-21)and Russell, Peplau and Cutrona's UCLA Loneliness Scale. The results indicate that adolescents maintain good mental health, even though they present a high level of loneliness. There is a correlation between mental health and loneliness, the greater the loneliness, the worse the mental health. Regarding mental health and sex, women obtained worse scores in stress and depression; however, there were no significant differences in anxiety; and no significant differences were found between loneliness and sex.