One in six adolescents feels lonely, survey finds

A significant deterioration in the mental health of adolescents has been recorded in Greece, according to a Research University Institute of Mental Health (UMHRI) survey of 6,250 pupils in sixth grade of primary school, second grade of high school and first grade of senior high.

The survey was part of the 2022 Health Behavior in School-aged Children project sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), involving 44 countries in Europe and Central Asia.

In Greece, 17.1% adolescents reported feeling lonely. 

“Although most adolescent pupils in Greece have good health and mental well-being, 14% describe their health as moderate or poor, 17.1% experience loneliness, and 60% experience at least two psychological or physical symptoms with a relatively high frequency, higher than the average of the countries participating in the WHO survey (44%),” said Tasos Fotiou, head of the UMHRI research team.