Social connections can act as a protective factor against long term consequences impacting the physical and emotional well-being of youth. This purpose for this study was to explore youth-reported levels of social connectedness prior to discharge from psychiatric inpatient care. A questionnaire was developed and administered in a cross-sectional survey to capture youths’ ratings of peer problems and social connectedness or loneliness. Participants were 161 youth (mean age 15 years, 75% female) accessing inpatient psychiatric treatment for a variety of mental illnesses (57% with a primary diagnosis of major depression). Almost 42% of the patients reported that they would rather be alone, almost 45% reported being bullied and almost 60% reported that they were concerned about peer problems when thinking about their return to school following hospitalization for psychiatric treatment. Overall, many youth reported difficulties with peers, having few friends and wanting to be alone. Many youth may benefit from the assistance of social workers and school personnel to develop and sustain desired friendships.

社会关系可以作为一种保护因素，防止影响青少年身心健康的长期后果。本研究的目的是探索在精神病住院护理出院前青少年报告的社会联系水平。在横断面调查中开发和管理了一份问卷，以获取青少年对同伴问题和社会联系或孤独感的评分。参与者是 161 名青年（平均年龄 15 岁，75% 为女性），他们因各种精神疾病（57% 的主要诊断为重度抑郁症）接受住院精神科治疗。近 42% 的患者报告说他们宁愿独处，近 45% 的人表示受到欺凌，近 60% 的人表示他们在考虑住院接受精神病治疗后重返学校时会担心同伴问题。总体而言，许多年轻人报告说与同龄人有困难，朋友很少，想独处。许多青年可能会受益于社会工作者和学校工作人员的帮助，以发展和维持所需的友谊。