Perceived Social Support from Friends as Determinant of Loneliness in a Sample of Primary School.

The peer group is the important social network in children's lives and has a high predictive value of an individual's later social and emotional adjustment. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the perceived social support from friends as predictor of the loneliness for primary school students. Two tools were used for data gathering. ”Social Support Appraisals Scale for Children and Adolescents” used to evaluate the perceived social support from friends was developed by Gokler (2007). ”The Children's Loneliness Scale” used for determining the level of loneliness of the children was developed by Kaya (2005). The study was carried out at three different socioeconomic statuses in Samsun. The sample of 222 primary school students (n=132 girls, n=90 boys) was selected randomly among three-to six-year primary school students. The average age of the students was 9.73 (5=0.81). As a statistical analysis method, Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression analysis were used. The results of the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient showed that perceived social support from friends was related to loneliness (r=-0.55, p＜0.01). The results of the regression analysis indicated that perceived social support from friends predicted significantly children's loneliness (R^2=0.31, t =-9.87). The implications for school psychological counselors can be derived from the findings of this study. This study may help school counselors in order to provide preventive psychological help and to plan appropriate training programs at psychological counseling services for schools.