Loneliness: Its correlates and associations with health risk behaviours among university students in 25 countries

Abstract

The aim of this cross-national study was to assess factors associated with loneliness and to determine the degree to which loneliness affects health status and risk behaviours among university students. Data were collected from 17 886 university students in 25 countries (females = 58.6%, from Africa = 33.5%). In multivariable logistic regression, loneliness was predicted by lower family wealth, living in a low or lower middle income country, and antecedent childhood. Moreover, psychosocial factors of perceived lack of control, low organised religious activity, high non-organised religious activity, high intrinsic religiosity, and low social support were associated with loneliness. Lonely students were also likely to self-report poor subjective health status, sleeping problems, short sleep duration, tobacco use, heavy internet use, aggressive behaviour, injury, and sexual risk behaviour. University students with loneliness may be assisted by preventive health interventions aimed at enhancing their subjective well-being.

Keywords:

• loneliness
• health status
• health risk behaviour
• university students

Acknowledgments

Partial funding for this study was provided by the South African Department of Higher Education. The following colleagues participated in this student health survey, contributed to data collection, and design of the study and need to be considered co-authors (locations of universities in parentheses) Bangladesh: Gias Uddin Ahsan (Dhaka); Barbados: T. Alafia Samuels (Bridgetown); Cameroon: Jacques Philippe Tsala Tsala (Yaounde); China: Tony Yung and Xiaoyan Xu (Hong Kong and Chengdu); Colombia: Carolina Mantilla (Pamplona); Egypt: Alaa Abou-Zeid (Cairo); Grenada: Omowale Amuleru-Marshall (St. George); India: Krishna Mohan (Visakhapatnam); Ivory Coast: Issaka Tiembre (Abidjan); Laos: Vanphanom Sychareun (Vientiane); Madagascar: Onya H Rahamefy (Antananarivo); Mauritius: Hemant Kumar Kassean (Réduit, Moka); Namibia: Pempelani Mufune (Windhoek); Nigeria: Solu Olowu (Ile-Ife); Philippines: Alice Ferrer (Miagao); Singapore: Mee Lian Wong (Singapore); South Africa: Tholene Sodi and Shai Nkoana (Polokwane); Thailand: Tawatchai Apidechkul (Chiang Rai); Tunisia: Hajer Aounallah-Skhiri (Tunis); Turkey: Neslihan Keser Özcan (Istanbul); Venezuela: Yajaira M Bastardo (Caracas).