About the project

The YLS project is creating a new way to measure loneliness in young people ages 10 to 24 years in the UK. While there are existing measures, they often don’t encompass the unique experiences of young people or were developed with little input from young people themselves. Our goal is to develop a questionnaire that accurately reflects the experiences and feelings of young people in the UK. We hope the scale will be valuable not just for researchers but also for universities, government bodies, and other organizations working to understand and address youth loneliness. This project is led by Professor Jennifer Lau at Queen Mary University London, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Manchester and King's College London.

Want to find out more?

Read our project protocol:

Fuhrmann D, Riddleston L, Verity L, et al. (2025). Coproducing a new scale with young people aged 10–24 years: a protocol for the development and validation of the Youth Loneliness Scale (YLS). BMJ Open, 15:e097497. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-097497

Read other papers from the project team:

Qualter, P., Verity, L., Walibhai, W., Fuhrmann, D., Riddleston, L., Alam, I., Conway, J., & Lau, J. Y. F. (in press). Exploring child and youth understanding of loneliness through qualitative insights and evaluating loneliness measures considering those lived experiences. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. doi: 10.1111/nyas.15269

Verity, L., Lau, J. Y. F., Fuhrmann, D., Riddleston, L., & Qualter, P. (2025). Age differences in conceptualisations of loneliness: a qualitative exploration of youth perspectives. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 30(1), 2573649. doi: 10.1080/02673843.2025.2573649

Alam, I., Khayri, E., Podger, T. A. B., Aspinall, C., Fuhrmann, D., & Lau, J. Y. F. (2024). A call for better research and resources for understanding and combatting youth loneliness: integrating the perspectives of young people and researchers. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 33, 939–942. doi: 10.1007/s00787-022-02125-0 

Listen to a podcast episode:

Why are young people lonely, and what can we do about it? The Science or Fiction podcast, with Molly Taylor (Policy and Public Affairs Executive, The Scouts) and Dr Lily Verity (researcher, University of Manchester)

Use our study materials:

https://osf.io/4qvnh/

For questions:

Please contact Jennifer Lau for more information about the project.

Thank you!

We are grateful for the invaluable input from our Young Person Advisory Group members and our Project Students.

The following charities are consultants for the YLS Project: The McPin Foundation, The Campaign to End Loneliness, The Future Leader Programme.

The YLS Project is funded by UK Research and Innovation.