Loneliness can lead to the development of somatic and mental illnesses and various addictions, as lonely individuals exhibit lower levels of resilience (Marano, 2003; Kendra, 2008). Therefore, this paper focuses on analysing resilience and loneliness (social dissatisfaction) in the critical period of adolescence. It presents school as an essential protective factor in developing individual, relational, and contextual resilience. The research aims to determine the level of loneliness and resilience and their different dimensions in adolescents in terms of several demographic variables (gender, type of school attended), as well as the existence of a relationship between loneliness and resilience factors. The research sample consists of 201 respondents aged between 15 and 19. The Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Questionnaire (LSDQ, Asher, & Wheeler, 1985) and the Children and Youth Resilience Scale (CYRM-28, Liebenberg, Ungar, & Van de Vijver, 2011) were used for data collection. Research findings indicate that there are differences between adolescent boys and girls in loneliness as well as in levels of resilience. Adolescent girls show higher levels of loneliness, and adolescent boys show higher levels of resilience in the areas of relational resilience, contextual resilience, and overall resilience; no statistically significant differences were found between boys and girls in the area of individual resilience. The results showed that individual, relational, contextual, and overall resilience were statistically significantly related to all dimensions of loneliness (feelings of loneliness, negative appraisal of peer relationships, level of dissatisfaction with relationships, and negative self-perception of social competence).

Keywords: Loneliness, resilience, adolescence, protective factor.