Reflective monitoring in lonely adolescents.

Deficient social skills may be a primary contributor to chronic loneliness during adolescence. Specifically, adolescents at risk of becoming chronically lonely may have trouble reflecting on the appropriateness of their behavior, and learning from their actions. This inability to monitor and reflect on behavior may promote the development of the social, affective, and behavioral problems characteristic of chronic loneliness. Hence, some instances of chronic loneliness may be understood in terms of a developmental psychopathological model which delineates their cognitive, behavioral, and affective components. Dysfunctional familial or peer group interactions in childhood may contribute to the development of a reflective monitoring deficit.