The Lonely Collegiate: An Examination of the Reasons for Loneliness Among Emerging Adults in College in the Western United States and West-Central Poland

Abstract

Loneliness among emerging adults in college has been primarily attributed to real and perceived socioemotional deficits. We posit that the cognitive underpinnings of loneliness are more complex. Participants were 520 students at a small liberal arts college in the Western United States ( Mage = 19.97; 69.7% women; 54.6% White) and 551 students at a large university in west-central Poland ( Mage = 21.72; 74.5% women; 100% White). In both samples, attributing loneliness to deficits in friendships, not feeling connected to peers, and concerns about one’s identity and future were uniquely associated with greater loneliness. Attributing loneliness to romantic deficits was also associated with greater loneliness, but this relation was stronger for men than women. Nationality moderated the relationship between attributing loneliness to social deficits and loneliness. The results underscore that school administrators in the United States and Europe who are concerned about student mental health would benefit from a more nuanced understanding of loneliness.