Developing an Interpretation Bias Modification Training Task for Alleviating Loneliness in Young People, 2022

Lau, Jennifer and Riddleston, Laura (2025). Developing an Interpretation Bias Modification Training Task for Alleviating Loneliness in Young People, 2022. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-857790

Loneliness is a negative emotion that occurs when one perceives his/her social relationships and networks to fall short of his/her social needs. Because loneliness is thought to have evolved as a powerful motivator to connect with others and solicit their support, it may arise during periods of life that are characterised by social turbulence. One such period is youth, where there are major changes in the external social environment such as the amount of time spent with peers and in the emergence of new peer hierarchies and cliques - but also in internal factors, such as the need for peer approval and the aversiveness of peer rejection. Accordingly, as these social changes may bring about instability in social relationships, loneliness can arise to facilitate re-connection with others, and therefore be considered a normal part of growing up for many young people. However for some young people loneliness can be intense, upsetting and persistent, predicting poorer mental and physical health. Delivering interventions to manage loneliness in youth is therefore crucial, made more so as this may reflect a period of plasticity for learning more effective ways of regulating emotions. As some negative thinking styles such as a tendency to endorse threatening over benign expectations and explanations of ambiguous social situations is associated with youth loneliness, measuring and targeting these earlier in life may be a powerful 'vaccine' for reducing the risk of loneliness.

However before any early interventions programs are planned around the targeting of threat interpretations, there are some key questions that need to addressed. First there is only one study showing that threat interpretations precede and predict risk for loneliness rather than reflect consequences. Disentangling these roles may inform whether it is useful to modify threat interpretations in order to alter loneliness. In addition it is not clear whether threat interpretations affect loneliness by influencing social withdrawal behaviour, as theories would suggest. Second all studies investigating threat interpretations in relation to loneliness have used questionnaires about hypothetical social scenarios rather than directly assess thoughts to real-life events. Establishing the relationship between threat interpretations and loneliness in everyday life is important, again for informing whether it is helpful to modify these thinking styles to alter lonely feelings. Finally, although methods have been developed for challenging threat interpretations related to other social behavioural problems like social anxiety, it is not clear if these methods are as relevant to and well tolerated by young people who are lonely.

The goals of this research are to address these questions. Three studies will be performed. First a longitudinal study of around 1000 young people will be conducted to examine the cross-time relationships between threat interpretations, social withdrawal and loneliness with a nested interview study supplementing quantitative data. Second an ecological momentary assessment study that assesses threat interpretations to real social situations and loneliness at several times in the day for a week will be conducted to investigate these relationships in daily life. Finally, together with some young people we will develop some materials for a training program that aims to modify threat interpretations. These will then be presented to another group of young people to assess for relevance, acceptability and how helpful and feasible such an intervention is. Potential effectiveness at reducing loneliness and threat interpretations, and changing social behaviour will be considered.

These studies will generate data to support further investigation into cognitive interventions for youth
loneliness and contribute to the national dialogue on loneliness between professionals/practitioners working with youth, policymakers, the public and young people themselves.

Please note: The data deposited here were generated during the third study of the project as described above, that aimed to develop materials for a training program that aims to modify threat interpretations during social situations that may be relevant to youth loneliness.

Data description (abstract)

Loneliness is common among young people and is associated with negative health outcomes. Because loneliness is associated with a bias for interpreting social situations as threatening, cognitive bias modification for interpretation (CBM-I) training is a potential early intervention tool. We developed and delivered a single session of mental imagery enhanced digital CBM-I training, assessing feasibility, acceptability, and magnitude of change in interpretational style and loneliness.

CBM-I training materials were developed using a co-creation approach with 18–25-year-olds with experience of loneliness.

Another group of 18–25-year-olds with high loneliness received either online CBM-I (n = 29) or control (n = 27) training. The data deposited here relate to this part of the study.

CBM-I training uptake and retention rates were 88% and 92%, respectively. Participants found the training acceptable. The CBM-I group showed a reduction in social threat interpretations (d = 0.77), an increase in social benign interpretations (d = 0.84), and a decrease in loneliness (d = 0.56). The control group showed a small reduction in social threat interpretations (d = 0.21), no change in social benign interpretations (d = 0.04), and an increase in loneliness (d = 0.41).

Interpretation biases relevant to youth loneliness may be modifiable, and CBM-I training could reduce feelings of loneliness. This informs psychological models of loneliness, and the development of CBM-I interventions targeting loneliness in young people.

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