Loneliness among international students in the UK

ABSTRACT

This small-scale convergent parallel mixed-methods study aims to explore loneliness in an international student population in a single university. An online de Jong Gierveld loneliness scale (DJGLS) with additional demographics provided the quantitative data on loneliness in international student population. The qualitative semi-structured interviews explored what the participants themselves said about their experience of loneliness. The online DJGLS suggests moderate levels of loneliness, with three out of four international students being affected. The quantitative data shows a negative relationship between loneliness and the number of university services used by international students (rho (56) = −.52, p < .01). The interviews gave insight into who international students missed most, how they adjusted to the new environment and how they coped with loneliness. In addition, the qualitative data illustrates international student support service use as an important means of expanding social networks. This study is one of a small number of studies looking at loneliness in international students in the UK and one of few using a loneliness scale alongside qualitative data. The empirical data provides support for understanding the scale of loneliness in international students in the UK and as such for tackling loneliness to be part of healthy university and university wellbeing agendas.

KEYWORDS:

• Loneliness
• international students
• higher education support services
• adjustment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anna-Sophia Wawera

Anna-Sophia Wawera is a PhD fellow at the NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Translational Research Centre. In 2018, she completed a MSc. Public Health at Sheffield Hallam University, where she was involved in several research projects examining student experience and health-related issues within the university. Her main research interests lay in the field of public health promotion among vulnerable population groups, with particular focus health-related issues affecting young people.

Alison McCamley

Alison McCamley is a senior lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University contributing to the public health teaching and research team. She has undertaken both qualitative, participatory and mixed method evaluations and community research for a broad range of public health activities and interventions. She is also interested in innovative methodological approaches relating to post graduate education.