{"links":{"self":"http://dataportal.arc.gov.au/NCGP/API/grants/DE260100894"},"data":{"type":"grant-details","id":"DE260100894","attributes":{"code":"DE260100894","administering-organisation":"Flinders University","announcement-administering-organisation":"Flinders University","scheme-name":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","grant-status":"Active","funding-commencement-year":2026,"years-funded":3,"project-start-date":"2026-12-31","anticipated-end-date":"2029-12-30","grant-summary":"Schools as lonely spaces: Loneliness and undesirable social connections. Loneliness is a prevalent, and increasing, problem among young Australians, with long-term physical and mental health consequences. This project aims to investigate how young people experience loneliness within the physical, social, and emotional environment of high school. Loneliness is traditionally considered an absence of desired relationships; this project, with an innovative flipped focus to consider loneliness as the presence of undesirable relationships (e.g., bullies), expects to rectify a critical lack of knowledge about loneliness in young people. Expected outcomes include tested recommendations to better inform wellbeing policy and interventions in schools to support young people and create safer and more connected schools.","funding-current":515026.00,"funding-at-announcement":511166,"investigators-current":[{"title":"Dr","firstName":"Ben","familyName":"Lohmeyer","roleName":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","roleCode":"DECRA","isFellowship":true,"orcidIdentifier":"0000-0003-3675-5539 "}],"investigators-at-announcement":[{"title":"Dr","firstName":"Ben","familyName":"Lohmeyer","roleName":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","roleCode":"DECRA","isFellowship":true,"orcidIdentifier":"0000-0003-3675-5539 "}],"organisations-current":[{"organisationName":"Flinders University","roleName":"Administering Organisation","state":"SA"}],"organisations-at-announcement":[{"organisationName":"Flinders University","roleName":"Administering Organisation","state":"SA"}],"field-of-research":[{"isPrimary":true,"code":"4410","name":"Sociology","type":"FOR20"},{"isPrimary":false,"code":"441015","name":"Sociology of the Life Course","type":"FOR20"}],"socio-economic-objective":[{"code":"160105","name":"Secondary Education","type":"SEO20"},{"code":"230115","name":"Youth Services","type":"SEO20"}],"international-collaboration":["England","New Zealand"],"lief-register":[],"achievement-summary":null,"national-interest-test-statement":"Loneliness is a major issue among young Australians, rivalling the prevalence of bullying in schools. It has significant short- and long-term mental and physical health implications, with an estimated annual cost of $2.7B in Australia. However, loneliness research and policy have traditionally focussed on older populations, leaving a critical gap in understanding how young people experience and manage loneliness. This project, co-designed and co-researched with young people, aims to shift the focus toward young people by investigating the impact of the social and emotional environment of schools. Validated insights from this project into how schools create opportunities and habits for building social connections will inform federal, state and school-based wellbeing policies, including the $61M annual investment in the National Student Wellbeing Program and the $510M Student Wellbeing Boost. Evidence from interventions targeting loneliness in older people and other youth-related social issues, suggests a return on investment exceeding 200%. Project findings will be disseminated to end-users through policy briefs to federal and state ministers, involving partner networks, a plain language report for professional practitioners (teachers and youth/social workers), a stakeholder forum to launch resources, and targeted media outreach."}}}