Perceived Social Support and Roommate Status as Predictors of College Student Loneliness.

LONELINESS IS AN ISSUE that is ubiquitous across college and university campuses. Studies have shown that students who utilize campus counseling services report loneliness as one of the most common issues for which they seek counseling. Although loneliness has been studied in the social sciences, little attention has been paid to predictors of loneliness on college and university campuses. This study used the UCLA Loneliness Scale to investigate the role that perceived social support, roommate status, gender, and year in college play in self-reported loneliness. Results suggest that students who reported greater social support from their families were lonelier than students who reported less family support. Conversely, students who reported greater social support from friends and significant others were less lonely than students who reported less support from friends and significant others. In addition, males reported being lonelier than their female counterparts. Finally, students who did not have roommates reported being lonelier than those who had roommates. Implications of this study for residence halls and higher education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]