The Impact of Loneliness to Depression: An evidence from College Students in Vietnam

Linh Pham; Lan Anh Bach; Thi Quynh Anh Le; Quoc Dat Truong; Khanh Linh Hoang

doi:10.18535/sshj.v8i03.960

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between loneliness and depression among college students in Vietnam. The study sample consisted of 523 students from the Economics/Business and Engineering disciplines, who participated in the survey by responding to questionnaires based on the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale (DJGLS) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS - 21) indicators. The findings of this study indicate that while social loneliness meets the validation standards, emotional loneliness is incongruent with the context and study participants in Vietnam. The final results reveal a positive correlation between loneliness and depression (r = 0.42, P-value < 0.005). Subsequently, the research team provides recommendations that college students should actively participate in social and recreational activities, maintain relationships with friends and family to alleviate social loneliness, thereby minimizing the likelihood of developing depression. Social organizations should strive to create a friendly, open environment that fosters a sense of connection and belonging for everyone.

Keywords

Emotional lonelinessSocial lonelinessDepression

References

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[refR-2] Berscheid, E., & Reis, H. T. (1998). Attraction and close relationships.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-3] Blanco, C., Okuda, M., Wright, C., Hasin, D. S., Grant, B. F., Liu, S. M., & Olfson, M. (2008). Mental health of college students and their non–college-attending peers: results from the national epidemiologic study on alcohol and related conditions. Archives of general psychiatry, 65(12), 1429-1437. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.65.12.1429DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-4] Cacioppo, J. T., & Patrick, W. (2008). Loneliness: Human nature and the need for social connection. WW Norton & Company.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-5] Cacioppo, J. T., Hawkley, L. C., Ernst, J. M., Burleson, M., Berntson, G. G., Nouriani, B., & Spiegel, D. (2006). Loneliness within a nomological net: An evolutionary perspective. Journal of research in personality, 40(6), 1054-1085. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2005.11.007DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-6] Deniz, M., Hamarta, E., & Ari, R. (2005). An investigation of social skills and loneliness levels of university students with respect to their attachment styles in a sample of Turkish students. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 33(1), 19-32. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2005.33.1.19DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-7] Eisma, M. C., Schut, H. A., Stroebe, M. S., Boelen, P. A., van den Bout, J., & Stroebe, W. (2015). Adaptive and maladaptive rumination after loss: A three‐wave longitudinal study. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 54(2), 163-180. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjc.12067DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-8] Eisemann, M. (1984). Contact difficulties and experience of loneliness in depressed patients and non‐psychiatric controls. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 70(2), 160-165. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.1984.tb01193.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-9] Erzen E, Çikrikci Ö. (2018). The effect of loneliness on depression: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 64(5):427-435. doi:10.1177/0020764018776349DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-10] Field, T., Diego, M., Pelaez, M., Deeds, O., & Delgado, J. (2009). Breakup distress in university students. Adolescence, 44(176).Google Scholar ↗

[refR-11] Hair, J. F., Jr., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis: A global perspective (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education International, Prentice Hall.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-12] Hasanah, U., Fitri, N. L., Supardi, S., & Livana, P. H. (2020). Depression among college students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jurnal Keperawatan Jiwa, 8(4), 421-424. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26714/jkj.8.4.2020.421-424DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-13] Hysing, M., Petrie, K. J., Bøe, T., Lønning, K. J., & Sivertsen, B. (2020). Only the lonely: A study of loneliness among university students in Norway. Clinical psychology in Europe, 2(1). doi: 10.32872/cpe.v2i1.2781DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

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[refR-16] Monroe, S. M., Rohde, P., Seeley, J. R., & Lewinsohn, P. M. (1999). Life events and depression in adolescence: relationship loss as a prospective risk factor for first onset of major depressive disorder. Journal of abnormal psychology, 108(4), 606. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.108.4.606DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-17] Najib, A., Lorberbaum, J. P., Kose, S., Bohning, D. E., & George, M. S. (2004). Regional brain activity in women grieving a romantic relationship breakup. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161(12), 2245-2256. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.161.12.2245DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

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[refR-20] Rahman, A., Bairagi, A., Dey, B. K., & Nahar, L. (2012). Loneliness and depression of university students. The Chittagong University J. of Biological Science, 7(1-2), 175-189.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-21] Rubenstein, C., & Shaver, P. R. (1982). In search of intimacy: Surprising conclusions from a nationwide survey on loneliness & what to do about it. Delacorte Press.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-22] Shaver, P., Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. (1985). Transition to college: Network changes, social skills, and loneliness. In S. Duck & D. Perlman (Eds.), Understanding personal relationships: An interdisciplinary approach (pp. 193–219). Sage Publications, Inc.Google Scholar ↗

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[refR-24] Verhallen, A. M., Renken, R. J., Marsman, J. B. C., & Ter Horst, G. J. (2019). Romantic relationship breakup: An experimental model to study effects of stress on depression (-like) symptoms. PloS one, 14(5), e0217320. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217320DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

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[refR-29] Yung, S. T., Chen, Y., & Zawadzki, M. J. (2023). Loneliness and psychological distress in everyday life among Latinx college students. Journal of American College Health, 71(5), 1407-1416. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2021.1927051DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗