Loneliness as a mediator for college students' social skills and experiences of depression and anxiety
Open accessAbstract
INTRODUCTION: Rates of anxiety and depression are increasing among college undergraduates. Existing research has demonstrated a link between social skills and mental health outcomes. This study explores the relationship between verbal social skills (encoding and decoding) and anxiety and depression by measuring the extent to which loneliness mediates these relationships. METHODS: Baseline data from a cross-sequential study exploring college student mental health was used to analyze social skills, loneliness, as well as, depression and anxiety. A diverse group of students (n = 2,054; M = 19.95; SD = 1.26) participated from two residential colleges in the United States. RESULTS: Six mediation models were estimated, separately testing whether loneliness mediated the relationship between anxiety and depression and social expressiveness, sensitivity, and control. All six found that (a) anxiety and depression were separately predicted by the verbal encoding skills of social expressivity and social control and the decoding skill of social sensitivity, and (b) all of those relationships were mediated by loneliness. These models accounted for 37-38% of the variability in scores of depression and 17-20% of the variability in scores of anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate verbal social skills play an important role in students experience of loneliness as well as depression and anxiety. Improving the social skills of students should be considered by colleges seeking to reduce the mental health burdens experienced by their students.
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For prisoners, loneliness is a common emotional issue, and it may exacerbate depression and anxiety symptoms.
“For prisoners, loneliness is a common emotional issue (29–32), and it may exacerbate depression and anxiety symptoms (33).”
From Can Viewing Nature Through Windows Improve Isolated Living? A Pathway Analysis on Chinese Male Prisoners During the COVID-19 Epidemic (2021) · cites this paper as [33]
The Introduction (‘Loneliness and Mental Health’) says loneliness is associated with increased symptoms of depression and anxiety, supporting the clause cited to this paper. The paper discusses college students and broader populations, however, not prisoners; it does not establish that the relationship holds in a prison setting. The separate claim that loneliness is common among prisoners is attached to other citations. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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- Authors
- Moeller, R. W., & Seehuus, M.
- Affiliations
- Middlebury College (US)
- University of Vermont (US)
- Corresponding author
- Moeller, Robert W.
- Venue
- Journal of Adolescence
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2019-03-29
- Volume
- 73
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1-13
- ISSN
- 0140-1971 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9254
- PMC
- PMC6534439
- OpenAlex
- W2931336987
- Cited by
- 254
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 23 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 53 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 47 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 6 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 27.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Adolescence (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences
- National Institutes of Health (P20GM103449)
- Institutional Development Award
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Education › Social Skills and Education
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
- Keywords
- loneliness, social skills, social sensitivity, social control, depression, anxiety, university students, mediation, student mental health
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depression, Female, Humans, Loneliness, Male, Students, Young Adult, Social Skills
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