Loneliness and Depressive Symptoms: Moderation and Mediation Model

ABSTRACT

Background

Due to the impact of COVID-19, loneliness rates among university students have increased. Despite research evidence on the impact of loneliness on depression among university students, only a few studies have focused on the mediating mechanism of this relationship. The investigation of the role of self-esteem and life satisfaction in the association between loneliness and depression among university students still has many gaps.

Purpose

This study aimed to investigate whether loneliness was associated with higher depressive symptoms among university students through lower life satisfaction and whether the relationship between loneliness and depressive symptoms was moderated by self-esteem.

Methods

The sample includes 408 university students (341 female students and 67 male students) in Vietnam. Participants completed self-reported measures of loneliness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, and depression symptoms.

Results

Moderation analyses indicated that self-esteem moderated the relationship between loneliness and depression symptoms. Mediation analyses indicated that loneliness was associated with depression symptoms through life satisfaction.

Discussion

Self-esteem and life satisfaction are important mechanisms to explain why students with high levels of loneliness may be associated with more depressive symptoms.

Translation to Health Education Practice

Health educators should consider implementing measures to reduce loneliness and increase self-esteem and life satisfaction to reduce depression in students.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the participants who accepted the questionnaires to complete this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Research data are not shared.

Ethics approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee. Ethical permission was obtained from the Department of Psychology and Education, University of Education, Hue University.

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from participants.

Authors’ contributions

The author confirms sole responsibility for the following: study conception and design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of results, and manuscript preparation.

Additional information

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.