Presentation Type
Poster
Presentation Type
Submission
Keywords
Loneliness; undergraduates; national assessment; cross-temporal data; counseling
Department
Psychology
Major
Psychology
Abstract
Loneliness is a painful awareness that one’s social relationships are less numerous or meaningful than one desires (Peplau & Perlman, 1982). To feel lonely is to feel excluded from a group, unloved by those surrounding oneself, unable to share one’s private concerns, or alienated from others (Myers & Twenge, 2019).
Since Fall 2008, the American College Health Association has collected data on loneliness from an average of 44,888 college students in its fall and spring administrations of the National College Health Assessment (NCHA). In this study, we report the rates of loneliness among undergraduates from Fall 2008 to Spring 2022.
Prior to Fall 2019, the NCHA measured loneliness by asking students whether they had felt “very lonely” in the past 12 months. In Fall 2008, 61% reported feeling very lonely; by Spring 2019, 67.4% did so.
Since Fall 2019, the NCHA has used three items (Hughes et al., 2004, ? = .72) from the revised 20-item UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell et al., 1980, ? = .94) to measure loneliness. The correlation between the 3-item scale and the 20-item scale is high (r = .82). The three items included: “How often do you feel that you lack companionship?”, “How often do you feel left out?”, and “How often do you feel isolated from others?” Responses included: 1(hardly ever), 2(some of the time), and 3 (often). Respondents’ scores for these three items were summed (min = 3, max = 9). A total score of 3 – 5 was classified as the absence of loneliness, whereas a total score of 6 – 9 was classified as the presence of loneliness. In Fall 2019, 50.3% of undergraduates were lonely. By Spring 2022, the rate rose to 53.6%.
Regardless of whether undergraduates self-identify themselves as feeling very lonely or are classified as lonely based on a 3-item measure of loneliness, over half of undergraduates are lonely, and the rates have been creeping up. We will discuss the implications of these findings.
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Khanh Bui
Funding Source or Research Program
Academic Year Undergraduate Research Initiative
Location
Waves Cafeteria
Start Date
24-3-2023 2:00 PM
End Date
24-3-2023 4:00 PM
Included in
Loneliness Rates among Undergraduates from 2008 to 2022, according to Data from the National College Health Assessment
Waves Cafeteria
Loneliness is a painful awareness that one’s social relationships are less numerous or meaningful than one desires (Peplau & Perlman, 1982). To feel lonely is to feel excluded from a group, unloved by those surrounding oneself, unable to share one’s private concerns, or alienated from others (Myers & Twenge, 2019).
Since Fall 2008, the American College Health Association has collected data on loneliness from an average of 44,888 college students in its fall and spring administrations of the National College Health Assessment (NCHA). In this study, we report the rates of loneliness among undergraduates from Fall 2008 to Spring 2022.
Prior to Fall 2019, the NCHA measured loneliness by asking students whether they had felt “very lonely” in the past 12 months. In Fall 2008, 61% reported feeling very lonely; by Spring 2019, 67.4% did so.
Since Fall 2019, the NCHA has used three items (Hughes et al., 2004, ? = .72) from the revised 20-item UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell et al., 1980, ? = .94) to measure loneliness. The correlation between the 3-item scale and the 20-item scale is high (r = .82). The three items included: “How often do you feel that you lack companionship?”, “How often do you feel left out?”, and “How often do you feel isolated from others?” Responses included: 1(hardly ever), 2(some of the time), and 3 (often). Respondents’ scores for these three items were summed (min = 3, max = 9). A total score of 3 – 5 was classified as the absence of loneliness, whereas a total score of 6 – 9 was classified as the presence of loneliness. In Fall 2019, 50.3% of undergraduates were lonely. By Spring 2022, the rate rose to 53.6%.
Regardless of whether undergraduates self-identify themselves as feeling very lonely or are classified as lonely based on a 3-item measure of loneliness, over half of undergraduates are lonely, and the rates have been creeping up. We will discuss the implications of these findings.