Young adults dealing with loneliness at university

Abstract

Loneliness is a phenomenon that occurs across the lifespan, having consequences for both physical and mental health. This article reports a study focussing on university students’ perceived loneliness. The findings from the thematic analysis of online contributions to relevant forums highlight that loneliness affected the students’ experience by influencing their psychological wellbeing, social identity and academic performance.

Keywords

• social support
• loneliness
• Higher Education
• academic performance
• psychological wellbeing