Loneliness and time abroad in Polish migrants in the UK: Protective role of religious experience

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between time spent abroad, level of religious experience, and loneliness in Polish migrants in the UK. Factors differentiating the level of loneliness were migration time (up to one year, from one to five years, and over five years) and religious experience, which was postulated to have a protective function against the level of loneliness experienced. The R-UCLA test was used to verify the level of loneliness, and religious experience was measured with the Religious Experience Scale in participants (N = 200) who were Polish migrants. The results showed that the relationship between time abroad and loneliness is not linear–the highest levels of loneliness were experienced in those who had been living in the UK between one and five years, which is consistent with the observations of Homoncik et al. (2017). Furthermore, the level of religious experience was significantly related to loneliness in that those with high levels of religious experience displayed lower levels of loneliness than those with low levels of religious experience. These results may suggest the need for interventions to raise awareness of potential risks among people with high levels of loneliness.