The DOI matches its Crossref record; 33 of the 33 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Relationship between loneliness and mental health in students
Open accessAbstract
Purpose: Previous cross-sectional research has examined the effect of loneliness on mental health. The purpose of this paper is to examine longitudinal relationships in students. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 454 British undergraduate students completed measures of loneliness and mental health at four time points. Findings: After controlling for demographics and baseline mental health, greater loneliness predicted greater anxiety, stress, depression and general mental health over time. There was no evidence that mental health problems increased loneliness over time. There was no relationship with alcohol problems. Baseline loneliness predicted greater eating disorder risk at follow-up and vice versa. Research limitations/implications: This study is limited by a relatively small and heavily female sample. Practical implications: Social and psychological interventions to reduce loneliness in university settings may improve mental health. Social implications: Universities should consider organising social activities to mitigate feelings of loneliness in students. Originality/value: This study adds to the literature as a longitudinal analysis showing that loneliness exacerbates poor mental health over time. This also adds to the literature for students specifically, and suggests a possible bi-directional relationship between eating disorders and loneliness for the first time.
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“Lack of social support and loneliness are, in turn, associated with emotional problems such as anxiety and depression (e.g., Matthews et al., 2019, Richardson et al., 2017).”
From Young Adult Adaptability to the Social Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Protective Role of Friendships (2022) · cites this paper as Richardson et al., 2017
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“Earlier studies have demonstrated a strong connection between college students’ experience of loneliness and depression and anxiety [23, 24].”
From Psychological correlates of perceived loneliness in college students before and during the COVID-19 stay-at-home period: a longitudinal study (2023) · cites this paper as [23]
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“Students can experience high levels of social contact but still feel lonely due to cognitive discrepancies between the desired quality of relationships and their actual experiences [22, 23].”
From Psychological correlates of perceived loneliness in college students before and during the COVID-19 stay-at-home period: a longitudinal study (2023) · cites this paper as [23]
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Cites
The CES-D Scale: A Self-Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population
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Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983) · Journal of Health and Social Behavior · doi:10.2307/2136404 · Cited by 32,807
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Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B. W., & Löwe, B. (2006) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092 · Cited by 31,765
SAUNDERS, J. B., AASLAND, O. G., BABOR, T. F., DE LA FUENTE, J. R., & GRANT, M. (1993) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.1993.tb02093.x · Cited by 13,597
The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: concurrent and discriminant validity evidence
Russell, D., Peplau, L. A., & Cutrona, C. E. (1980) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.39.3.472 · Cited by 5,173
The Eating Attitudes Test: psychometric features and clinical correlates
Garner, D. M., Olmsted, M., Bohr, Y., & Garfinkel, P. (1982) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291700049163 · Cited by 4,902
Loneliness matters: a theoretical and empirical review of consequences and mechanisms
Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2010) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12160-010-9210-8 · Cited by 4,782
A Short Scale for Measuring Loneliness in Large Surveys: Results From Two Population-Based Studies
Hughes, M. E., Waite, L. J., Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2004) · Research on Aging · doi:10.1177/0164027504268574 · Cited by 4,781
Löwe, B., Decker, O., Müller, S., Brähler, E., Schellberg, D., Herzog, W., & Herzberg, P. Y. (2008) · Medical Care · doi:10.1097/mlr.0b013e318160d093 · Cited by 4,527
Cacioppo, J. T., Hughes, M. E., Waite, L. J., Hawkley, L. C., & Thisted, R. A. (2006) · Psychology and Aging · doi:10.1037/0882-7974.21.1.140 · Cited by 2,380
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- 1984, Linear Statistical Models and Related Models
- 1982, Loneliness. A Sourcebook of Current Research and Therapy
Cited by
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Sheldon, E., Simmonds-Buckley, M., Bone, C., Mascarenhas, T., Chan, N., Wincott, M., Gleeson, H., Sow, K., Hind, D., & Barkham, M. (2021) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2021.03.054 · Cited by 644
Campbell, F., Blank, L., Cantrell, A. J., Baxter, S. K., Blackmore, C., Dixon, J., & Goyder, E. (2022) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-022-13943-x · Cited by 491
Loneliness and the onset of new mental health problems in the general population
Mann, F., Wang, J., Pearce, E., Ma, R., Schlief, M., Lloyd‐Evans, B., Ikhtabi, S., & Johnson, S. (2022) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-022-02261-7 · Cited by 426
Moeller, R. W., & Seehuus, M. (2019) · Journal of Adolescence · doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.03.006 · Cited by 254
Burns, D. S., Dagnall, N., & Holt, M. (2020) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2020.582882 · Cited by 216
Metadata
- Authors
- Richardson, T., Elliott, P., & Roberts, R.
- Affiliations
- Solent NHS Trust (GB)
- University of Southampton (GB)
- Kingston University London (GB)
- Venue
- Journal of Public Mental Health
- Publisher
- Emerald
- Published
- 2017-06-19
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 48-54
- ISSN
- 1746-5729 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2612347652
- Cited by
- 256
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2026: 30 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 37 · 2022: 50 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 9.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Public Mental Health (publishedVersion)
- ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (submittedVersion)
- Research Repository (Kingston University London) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Keywords
- loneliness, mental health, university students, anxiety, stress, depression, eating disorders, alcohol problems, bidirectional relationship
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