1. Emerging Adults’ Feelings of Loneliness in College
Jessica Wilcox (Advisor: Professor Andrea Hopmeyer)
Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA
Limitations:
Self-report questionnaire measures
Majority of sample was female
Small sample size
Future Research:
How coping mechanisms are related to different reasons for loneliness
Larger sample size could provide validation for the measure used in this study
Implications:
Offers insight into why college students feel lonely
Reasons for loneliness are organized around key social needs of emerging adults
These findings can be used for school personnel focused on emerging adults’ adjustment to college
Abstract
Participants:
262 college students
73% female; 27% male
Recruited from a small-sized private college
Completed an anonymous online survey
Compensation: extra credit and chance to win gift card
The survey was designed to measure the following variables:
(1) total loneliness (α =.91)
(2) reasons for loneliness (α =.84)
Exploratory Factor Analysis:
Conducted to determine whether the reasons for loneliness represented a smaller subset of meaningful dimensions
Three factors were found (see Table 1):
Social integration deficits
Romantic intimacy deficits
Stage-specific deficits
Bivariate Correlation Analyses:
Conducted to find the relationship between total loneliness and the three dimensions.
Total loneliness was significantly and positively correlated with all three dimensions
Analyses Comparing Groups:
We found a main effect of gender for the social integration deficits and stage-specific deficits factors (see Figure 1)
We found a main effect of class standing for the social integration deficits factor (see Figure 2)
Methods
Objective:
Develop a reliable instrument for assessing emerging adults’ reasons for loneliness in college
Determine the structure underlying college students’ reasons for loneliness
Examine if reasons for loneliness varied as a function of gender and class standing
Methods:
262 Occidental College students
Completed a short online survey designed to assess’ overall loneliness and reasons for loneliness
Results:
The 14 reasons for loneliness used in the survey were best described by three underlying dimensions
Social Integration Deficits, Relationship Intimacy Deficits, and Stage-Specific Deficits
Reported reasons for loneliness varied as a function of gender and class standing
Discussion
Results
Introduction
Loneliness peaks during emerging adulthood (18-25 years old) (Luhmann & Hawkley, 2016; Rokach, 2000)
College is seen as a lonely transitional period (Asher & Weeks, 2014)
Majority of previous research has relied on UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, 1996)
This is an indirect measure of loneliness with its items focused on the causes of loneliness
This assessment approach has made it harder for researchers to interpret results for reasons for loneliness
The present study used a “pure” loneliness measure (see Table 1) and sought to develop a reliable measurement to evaluate college students’ reasons for loneliness
Hypothesized that the underlying dimensions underlying causes of loneliness would be organized around social integration, emotional intimacy, and identity development
Explored if gender and class standing influenced reasons for loneliness