%0 Journal Article
%T Do not overlook lonely children:  Additional evidence from two longitudinal studies
%A Shigeo Sakurai
%A Takuma Nishimura
%A Tatsuya Murakami
%J Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
%@ 1460-3608
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/0265407517701840
%X The present article investigated the longitudinal influence of loneliness on peer acceptance in school through two longitudinal studies; specifically, we hypothesized a bidirectional view on the relationship between loneliness and peer acceptance. In Study 1, a total of 383 Japanese elementary school students in fourth and fifth grades (207 boys and 176 girls, aged 9¨C11) at three public schools in Japan participated in an 18-month longitudinal study. Through a comparison of hypothetical models, the accepted model showed a ripple effect of loneliness on peer acceptance. Subsequently, in Study 2, a total of 506 Japanese elementary school students in fourth to sixth grades (253 boys and 253 girls, aged 9¨C12) at two public schools in Japan participated in a 6-month longitudinal study. The statistically accepted cross-lagged model indicated a bidirectional influence between loneliness and peer acceptance. These findings indicate a strong link between loneliness and peer acceptance from a longitudinal bidirectional perspective and suggest the importance of early educational practices for lonely children to prevent them from entering this vicious cycle
%K Children
%K cross-lagged model
%K loneliness
%K longitudinal study
%K peer acceptance
%K structural equation modeling
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0265407517701840