Presentation Type
Poster
Presentation Type
Submission
Keywords
Loneliness, First-Generation College Students, Focus Group
Department
Psychology
Major
Psychology
Abstract
Loneliness is a painful awareness that one’s social relationships are less numerous or meaningful than one desires. 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 those in one’s surroundings. Loneliness might be particularly acute in first-generation college students. In addition to the usual challenges of adjusting to academic demands and the social life of college, first-generation college students have the challenges of being away from their home country, language, food, and more. We sought to understand loneliness in undergraduates’ own words as they described their experiences of loneliness. We employed focus groups to gain an understanding of the range of opinions and experiences pertaining to loneliness among first-generation college students. Six first-generation college students (4 women, 2 men) at a small, liberal arts Christian university that has a loneliness rate of 53.3% participated in one of two focus groups. The focus group discussions lasted an average of 38.46 minutes (SD = 18.54 minutes). Discussion questions included “Have you ever felt lonely at Pepperdine before? If yes, what did this feel like?” and “In what situations do you, as a first-gen student, feel particularly lonely?” along with “What helps you when you are feeling lonely?” We recorded the focus group discussions and employed transcribeme.com for the transcripts. Our focus group study is ongoing. We will have completed more focus group discussions and, thus, have data from more first-generation college students by the time of the WPA 2024 Convention. So far, we have found that first-generation college students’ comments fall into one of six themes: (1) academics, (2) social media, (3) access to a car, (4) familial relations, (5) campus on the weekend, and (6) time for connection (responsibilities, first-year experience). These findings are important because they show how some first-generation college students experience loneliness. The findings also start to provide ideas of what student affairs offices on college campuses might consider in their efforts to help alleviate loneliness among their first-generation college students.
Faculty Mentor
Khanh Bui
Funding Source or Research Program
Academic Year Undergraduate Research Initiative
Location
Waves Cafeteria
Start Date
22-3-2024 1:30 PM
End Date
22-3-2024 2:30 PM
Included in
Loneliness in the Words of First-Generation College Students
Waves Cafeteria
Loneliness is a painful awareness that one’s social relationships are less numerous or meaningful than one desires. 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 those in one’s surroundings. Loneliness might be particularly acute in first-generation college students. In addition to the usual challenges of adjusting to academic demands and the social life of college, first-generation college students have the challenges of being away from their home country, language, food, and more. We sought to understand loneliness in undergraduates’ own words as they described their experiences of loneliness. We employed focus groups to gain an understanding of the range of opinions and experiences pertaining to loneliness among first-generation college students. Six first-generation college students (4 women, 2 men) at a small, liberal arts Christian university that has a loneliness rate of 53.3% participated in one of two focus groups. The focus group discussions lasted an average of 38.46 minutes (SD = 18.54 minutes). Discussion questions included “Have you ever felt lonely at Pepperdine before? If yes, what did this feel like?” and “In what situations do you, as a first-gen student, feel particularly lonely?” along with “What helps you when you are feeling lonely?” We recorded the focus group discussions and employed transcribeme.com for the transcripts. Our focus group study is ongoing. We will have completed more focus group discussions and, thus, have data from more first-generation college students by the time of the WPA 2024 Convention. So far, we have found that first-generation college students’ comments fall into one of six themes: (1) academics, (2) social media, (3) access to a car, (4) familial relations, (5) campus on the weekend, and (6) time for connection (responsibilities, first-year experience). These findings are important because they show how some first-generation college students experience loneliness. The findings also start to provide ideas of what student affairs offices on college campuses might consider in their efforts to help alleviate loneliness among their first-generation college students.