Presentation Type
Poster
Keywords
Loneliness, undergraduate students, language, gender
Department
Psychology
Major
Psychology & Music
Abstract
Loneliness has been shown to have detrimental effects to both physical and mental health. A 2017 survey of Pepperdine undergraduates found 69% of student felt lonely, compared to the national average of 64%. This study sought to understand loneliness through students' own words. Focus groups, divided by gender, were conducted and participants were asked to discuss their experiences of loneliness at Pepperdine. Additionally, participants were asked to create a list of words that come to mind to describe loneliness. Data from the focus groups were analyzed by identifying key themes and sub-themes and quotes from the participants were coded and sorted into the themes and sub-themes based on the patterns of language used. The results of the study found seven main themes in the language used by students pertaining to friends, the physical isolation of campus, social isolation, the dating culture, depression and anxiety, maintaining a social image, feelings of in-group vs. out-group, and Pepperdine's Christian environment.
Faculty Mentor
Khanh Bui
Funding Source or Research Program
Summer Undergraduate Research Program
Location
Waves Cafeteria
Start Date
29-3-2019 2:00 PM
End Date
29-3-2019 3:00 PM
Included in
Loneliness in Students' Own Words
Waves Cafeteria
Loneliness has been shown to have detrimental effects to both physical and mental health. A 2017 survey of Pepperdine undergraduates found 69% of student felt lonely, compared to the national average of 64%. This study sought to understand loneliness through students' own words. Focus groups, divided by gender, were conducted and participants were asked to discuss their experiences of loneliness at Pepperdine. Additionally, participants were asked to create a list of words that come to mind to describe loneliness. Data from the focus groups were analyzed by identifying key themes and sub-themes and quotes from the participants were coded and sorted into the themes and sub-themes based on the patterns of language used. The results of the study found seven main themes in the language used by students pertaining to friends, the physical isolation of campus, social isolation, the dating culture, depression and anxiety, maintaining a social image, feelings of in-group vs. out-group, and Pepperdine's Christian environment.