Purpose: To examine the characteristics of adolescents and young adults (AYA) who perceive themselves as unpopular with peers from the same-sex, opposite-sex, or both.
Methods: We used the baseline wave (2014-15; N¼5179) of the Generation FRee longitudinal study, gathering a cantonal representative sample of in-school 15-24 year-olds. The web-based in school administered questionnaire included the 2 items “Among same-sex/opposite-sex peers, I am very popular” (yes/no). Respondents were divided into 4 groups: Those who perceived themselves as popular with same-sex and opposite-sex peers (POP; N¼3’164, 61.09%); as unpopular with same-sex and opposite-sex peers (UNPOP; N¼1’228, 23.71%); as unpopular with same-sex peers only (UNPOPSame; N¼284, 5.48%), and as unpopular with opposite-sex peers only (UNPOPOther; N¼503, 9.72%). At the bivariate level, groups were compared on sociodemographic data, making same-sex and opposite-sex friends easily, emotional well-being, school performance and track, and substance use (current smoking, past 30-days e-cigarette, cannabis, and alcohol misuse, and other illegal drug use ever). All significant variables (p<.05) were included in a multinomial logistic regression using POP as the reference category. Data are presented as Relative Risk Ratios (RRR) with 95% confidence intervals.