Loneliness at Universities: Determinants of Emotional and Social Loneliness among Students
- PMID: 30158447
- PMCID: PMC6163695
- DOI: 10.3390/ijerph15091865
Loneliness at Universities: Determinants of Emotional and Social Loneliness among Students
Abstract
The transition from school to university is associated with social, structural, and behavioral changes. These changes may be related to feelings of loneliness, which are in turn related to morbidity. The authors' aim was to quantify loneliness among students and to identify its determinants and its relation to transition-related variables (e.g., changes in weight, diet, or physical activity since the transition from high school to university). Coming from across Germany, 689 students participated in the Nutrition and Physical Activity in Adolescence (NuPhA) survey (16⁻29 years; 69.5% female). Associations of loneliness with the above-mentioned aspects were analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regressions. Altogether, 32.4% felt moderately lonely and 3.2%, severely lonely. Emotional loneliness was more common than social loneliness (severe loneliness: 7.7% vs. 3.2%). Both were positively associated with feelings of depression and anxiety. Being married or in a committed relationship seemed to be protective factors for emotional loneliness. Physical inactivity, an immigrant background, and studying social sciences were related to higher social loneliness. Transition-related variables produced mixed results. In conclusion, this study's findings indicated that loneliness seemed to be prevalent in university students. The authors identified important starting points for interventions to prevent loneliness. Such interventions may help reduce the disease burden in the students' future professional life.
Keywords: adolescence; loneliness; transition; university students.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Figures
Similar articles
-
Associations of loneliness with mental health and with social and physical activity among university students in Germany: results of the COVID-19 German student well-being study (C19 GSWS).Front Public Health. 2023 Nov 10;11:1284460. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1284460. eCollection 2023. Front Public Health. 2023. PMID: 38026349 Free PMC article.
-
Is emotional functioning related to academic achievement among university students? Results from a cross-sectional Iranian sample.Braz J Psychiatry. 2018 Jul-Sep;40(3):290-295. doi: 10.1590/1516-4446-2017-2434. Epub 2018 Mar 12. Braz J Psychiatry. 2018. PMID: 29538489 Free PMC article.
-
Association between loneliness and cigarette smoking attitudes among university students in Iran: a cross-sectional study.BMJ Open. 2024 May 28;14(5):e079593. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-079593. BMJ Open. 2024. PMID: 38806432 Free PMC article.
-
Comparison of smartphone addiction and loneliness in high school and university students.Perspect Psychiatr Care. 2018 Oct;54(4):564-570. doi: 10.1111/ppc.12277. Epub 2018 Mar 30. Perspect Psychiatr Care. 2018. PMID: 29601080
-
Review: Interventions addressing loneliness amongst university students: a systematic review.Child Adolesc Ment Health. 2023 Nov;28(4):512-523. doi: 10.1111/camh.12614. Epub 2022 Dec 10. Child Adolesc Ment Health. 2023. PMID: 36496554 Review.
Cited by
-
Determinants of loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States: A one-year follow-up study.J Soc Pers Relat. 2022 Dec;39(12):3579-3595. doi: 10.1177/02654075221102632. J Soc Pers Relat. 2022. PMID: 38603263 Free PMC article.
-
The effectiveness of physical activity interventions in improving higher education students' mental health: A systematic review.Health Promot Int. 2024 Apr 1;39(2):daae027. doi: 10.1093/heapro/daae027. Health Promot Int. 2024. PMID: 38563387 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
-
Trend in loneliness among Swiss university students during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.Health Psychol Rep. 2023 Oct 4;12(1):53-67. doi: 10.5114/hpr/169721. eCollection 2024. Health Psychol Rep. 2023. PMID: 38425886 Free PMC article.
-
Bedtime procrastination related to loneliness among Chinese university students during post-pandemic period: a moderated chain mediation model.BMC Public Health. 2024 Feb 16;24(1):491. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-18019-6. BMC Public Health. 2024. PMID: 38365682 Free PMC article.
-
Starting an undergraduate degree amid the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-method egocentric network study on student loneliness.PLoS One. 2024 Feb 2;19(2):e0297953. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297953. eCollection 2024. PLoS One. 2024. PMID: 38306333 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Schlossberg N.K., Waters E.B., Goodman J. Counseling Adults in Transition Linking Practice with Theory. Springer; New York, NY, USA: 1995.
-
- Wheaton B. Life transitions, role histories, and mental health. Am. Sociol. Rev. 1990;55:209–223. doi: 10.2307/2095627. - DOI
-
- Kenny M.E., Donaldson G.A. The relationship of parental attachment and psychological separation to the adjustment of first-year college women. J. Coll. Stud. Dev. 1992;33:431–438.
-
- Lopez F.G., Campbell V.L., Watkins C.E. Family structure, psychological separation, and college adjustment: A canonical analysis and cross-validation. J. Couns. Psychol. 1988;35:402–409. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.35.4.402. - DOI
-
- Rice K.G. Separation-individuation and adjustment to college: A longitudinal study. J. Couns. Psychol. 1992;39:203–213. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.39.2.203. - DOI
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical