Is Worry Associated With Social Exclusion in School? Within‐Person Relations From Age 10 to 16

Bibliographic Data

ID21444115
AuthorsAndreas Stenhaug (0000-0001-8023-0057, CAMHS Bryne, Division of Psychiatry Stavanger University Hospital Stavanger Norway), Věra Skalická (0000-0003-1443-1656, Department of Psychology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway, corresponding author), Stian Solem (0000-0002-6942-2645, Department of Psychology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway), Frode Stenseng (0000-0002-6581-1133, Department of Education and Lifelong Learning Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway)
Year2026
Publication date2026-07-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Adolescence (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0140-1971 • E-ISSN: 1095-9254
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/jad.70223
PMID42421603
OpenAlexW7167795883
LanguageEN
References cited49

INTRODUCTION: The need-to-belong theory stipulates that social exclusion should influence cognitive processing. However, no longitudinal studies have examined its effects on cognitive processing (e.g., worry) associated with internalizing problems. In this study, we investigated whether social exclusion in school predicts worry from childhood to adolescence, and whether these associations differ by gender. METHODS: The sample consisted of 655 Norwegian 10-year-olds who were assessed biennially from age 10 to 16 between 2013/2014 and 2020/2021. Assessments included teacher-reported data on social exclusion in school and self-reported levels of worry. To examine prospective within-person effects of social exclusion in school on worry, a random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RICLPM) was utilized. RESULTS: Results showed that worry increased with age, whereas social exclusion in school did not. RI-CLPM revealed that increased social exclusion in school at age 12 predicted increased worry at age 14, but only for girls. No gender differences were observed in the levels of social exclusion in school, suggesting higher reactivity to social exclusion in girls. CONCLUSIONS: The study extends partial support for the need-to-belong theory in a real-world context, during an important developmental transition in children's lives.

Cognition · Longitudinal study · Norwegian · Social environment · Social exclusion · Worry · Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Optimism, Hope, and Well-being

Tools

Open DOI