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Schedule:
Thursday, January 15, 2026
Marquis BR 6, ML 2 (Marriott Marquis Washington DC)
* noted as presenting author
Background and Purpose: This study investigates patterns of psychiatric comorbidity and their associations with multidimensional loneliness among young adults (ages 19–39) in South Korea. While prior research has explored the relationship between psychiatric comorbidity and loneliness (Meltzer et al., 2013; Magid et al., 2024), specific patterns of co-occurring disorders and their associations with loneliness frequency, severity, and duration remain unclear. To address these gaps, this study identifies distinct psychiatric comorbidity profiles, including nicotine use disorder, alcohol use disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, adult ADHD, and internet gaming disorder, and examines how different dimensions of loneliness relate to these patterns.
Methods: Cross-sectional data were obtained from the 2021 National Mental Health Survey conducted by the Korean National Center for Mental Health via nationwide tablet-assisted interviews. Psychiatric disorders were assessed using the Korean version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (K-CIDI). Loneliness was measured using single-item assessments capturing frequency, severity, and duration. The final analytic sample consisted of 1,628 participants (51.4% male; mean age = 30 years, SD = 6.17). Latent class analysis (LCA) was employed to identify psychiatric comorbidity patterns, and multinomial logistic regression (using the r3step method in Mplus) analyzed associations between loneliness dimensions and comorbidity classes.
Results: Three distinct groups emerged: Healthy, Substance Use Disorders, and Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders. The Healthy Group had minimal psychiatric disorders. The Substance Use Disorders Group exhibited moderate levels of alcohol and internet gaming disorders and had the highest prevalence of nicotine use. The Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders Group demonstrated high prevalence rates of all assessed psychiatric disorders except nicotine use disorder. Notably, loneliness frequency, severity, and duration were significantly associated only with the Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders Group. Compared to participants who reported being "Hardly lonely," those who felt "Sometimes/Often lonely" had an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 16.067 for psychiatric comorbidity. Similarly, loneliness-related distress increased the aOR to 16.350 compared to those "Not at all distressed." Additionally, loneliness duration was strongly associated with psychiatric comorbidity; loneliness lasting less than one year increased the aOR to 11.487, whereas loneliness lasting more than one year elevated the aOR to 27.669, relative to the never-lonely Healthy Group.
Conclusions and Implications: This study identified distinct psychiatric comorbidity patterns among young adults in South Korea and their differential associations with multidimensional loneliness. Results highlight a clear distinction between a group predominantly characterized by substance use disorders (nicotine and alcohol use) and another group with broader psychiatric comorbidities. Clinically, these findings suggest that identifying depression or anxiety disorders should prompt screening for additional psychiatric conditions. Furthermore, multidimensional loneliness—especially chronic loneliness lasting more than one year—was strongly associated with psychiatric comorbidities, emphasizing the importance of targeted interventions addressing prolonged loneliness to prevent or mitigate psychiatric conditions among young adults.
Methods: Cross-sectional data were obtained from the 2021 National Mental Health Survey conducted by the Korean National Center for Mental Health via nationwide tablet-assisted interviews. Psychiatric disorders were assessed using the Korean version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (K-CIDI). Loneliness was measured using single-item assessments capturing frequency, severity, and duration. The final analytic sample consisted of 1,628 participants (51.4% male; mean age = 30 years, SD = 6.17). Latent class analysis (LCA) was employed to identify psychiatric comorbidity patterns, and multinomial logistic regression (using the r3step method in Mplus) analyzed associations between loneliness dimensions and comorbidity classes.
Results: Three distinct groups emerged: Healthy, Substance Use Disorders, and Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders. The Healthy Group had minimal psychiatric disorders. The Substance Use Disorders Group exhibited moderate levels of alcohol and internet gaming disorders and had the highest prevalence of nicotine use. The Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders Group demonstrated high prevalence rates of all assessed psychiatric disorders except nicotine use disorder. Notably, loneliness frequency, severity, and duration were significantly associated only with the Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders Group. Compared to participants who reported being "Hardly lonely," those who felt "Sometimes/Often lonely" had an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 16.067 for psychiatric comorbidity. Similarly, loneliness-related distress increased the aOR to 16.350 compared to those "Not at all distressed." Additionally, loneliness duration was strongly associated with psychiatric comorbidity; loneliness lasting less than one year increased the aOR to 11.487, whereas loneliness lasting more than one year elevated the aOR to 27.669, relative to the never-lonely Healthy Group.
Conclusions and Implications: This study identified distinct psychiatric comorbidity patterns among young adults in South Korea and their differential associations with multidimensional loneliness. Results highlight a clear distinction between a group predominantly characterized by substance use disorders (nicotine and alcohol use) and another group with broader psychiatric comorbidities. Clinically, these findings suggest that identifying depression or anxiety disorders should prompt screening for additional psychiatric conditions. Furthermore, multidimensional loneliness—especially chronic loneliness lasting more than one year—was strongly associated with psychiatric comorbidities, emphasizing the importance of targeted interventions addressing prolonged loneliness to prevent or mitigate psychiatric conditions among young adults.