Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare loneliness between the left-behind children of migrant workers and the non-left-behind ones, and identify the most significant predictors of loneliness among the left-behind children. Design/methodology/approach Incidental sampling was performed to select 629 participants aged 11–16 from 5 schools in the rural areas of Karawang and Lombok in Indonesia. They filled in paper-and-pencil self-report inventories. Findings Left-behind children were significantly lonelier than their counterparts were. Emotional loneliness was more affected by parental absence compared to social loneliness. Left-behind children would be more susceptible to experience loneliness if they had more access to entertainment gadgets, experienced less support and intimacy from friends, had been left by their migrant parents more than once, were female, had low self-esteem, experienced emotional difficulties and rarely communicated with their parents. Research limitations/implications Qualitative research was needed to provide more elaborative explanation about the findings. Practical implications Parents needed to consider the psychological cost and benefit of working abroad to their children. Governments could intervene by limiting the duration and frequency of work among the migrant workers. Social implications Some beneficial implications to prevent and reduce loneliness among left-behind children were provided, such as by maintaining the frequency and quality of communication with the children, motivating and guiding the children to interact with their peers and spend less time on entertainment gadgets, as well as encouraging the children to engage in several positive activities to enhance their self-esteem. Originality/value This study enriched the understanding about complex relationship between parental presence and adolescents’ mental health despite the fact that adolescents seemed to be more interested in relationships with peers.
Victimization can have long-term effects, including bringing about a state of social alienation or loneliness. People with social alienation or loneliness may have difficulty initiating and maintaining social relationships, which then exacerbates the alienation and loneliness. If it is left untreated, other effects could result, such as depression, substance abuse, vandalism, and poor health. An intervention is needed to reduce the symptoms of social alienation and loneliness among the victimized. Several studies have shown that support groups can reduce such symptoms and that they help broaden social networks as well. This study tested the effectiveness of support group intervention program in reducing the symptoms of social alienation and loneliness among college students who have been victimized. This was a short program, consisting of only three sessions. During this program, participants were encouraged to talk about their negative social experiences and the difficulty they encounter in maintaining social relationships. They learned useful tips and skills to improve their interpersonal relationships, and communication skills. Certain methods were featured in this program, such as roleplay, group interview, snowball feedback, and home assignments. Eight college students aged 18 to 22 were selected to join the program. All of them had experienced victimization, including verbal, physical, and cyber bullying, as well as estrangement from friends and families. They also reported difficulties in interpersonal relationships due to the victimization. Six participants attended all sessions, and two could not. This study had a pre-and post-test, withingroup design. To measure the degree of social alienation and loneliness among the participants, we used the Jessor and Jessor Social Alienation Scale and the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale. Both scales were administered before the first session and immediately following the last one. The scores from the pre-and post-tests were compared using descriptive statistics to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Qualitative evaluations were also collected from all participants to describe changes among them after they joined the program. The pre-and post-test measurements revealed that all participants had reduced scores on the social alienation scale from the pre-to the post-test. On the loneliness scale, one participant had an increased score on the post-test, while the rest of the participants showed a decrease. This may have been the result of certain personal characteristics of this participant. Qualitative evaluations indicated that all participants had positive change in their social relationships and the way they perceived themselves after the program.
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