Sex Differences in the Relationship between Loneliness and Academic Performance

Abstract

Entering college for the first time is a major life transition for a substantial number of people in American society. Such major transitions can disrupt familiar social relationships, which in turn can lead to loneliness for many students ( 2 ) . Although most students are able to reestablish satisfying laterpersonal relationships, continued loneliness can result in many negative outcomes such as depression, psychosomatic difficulties, and even suicide ( 5 ) . For the college student, the most likely manifestation of many of these negative outcomes would be a lowering of academic performance. However, the effect of loneliness on academic performance might differ for males and females. For example, single men report being significantly less happy than single women, married men, and married women ( 3 ) . One interpretation of this finding might be that single men are more affected by their interpersonal relationships than other individuals. One might expect single college men would be more adversely affected by loneliness, as indicated by academic performance, than single college women. The present study investigated sex differences in the relationship between loneliness and academic performance. The participants were 51 male and 46 female undergraduates recruited from campus residence halls of a large university in the northwest United States. Loneliness was assessed using a version of the Bradley ( 4 ) Loneliness Scale, modified to 37 Liken-type items indicative of loneliness (internal consistency = .92) oc a 6-point scale format (from rarely true to always true), which are summed to yield a total loneliness score. The original scale was validated against the MMPI. Academic performance was determined by ascertaining the participants' grade point averages. The correlations between loneliness and academic performance as expected, for males showed, as loneliness increased, there was a corresponding decrease in academic performance (? = -.32, p < .05), while no significant relationship was found for females ( r = -.14). The factors affecting the relationship between loneliness and academic performance ate complex. The observed negative relationship between these two variables for males might be rooted in the relative inability of men to express their feelings to others (1). If men do not feel free to share with others their feelings of loneliness, then the negative consequences of loneliness might affect them in many ways, one of which might be performance in college. Funher research is needed to examine the complexity of this important relationship.