Exploring loneliness and students’ sense of coherence (S-SoC) in the university setting

Abstract

Background. Loneliness is a prevalent global public health issue, and this topic is also common among university students. From a health-related, resource-oriented approach like the salutogenic model, loneliness can be interpreted as a potential stressor. To cope effectively with this stressor, a strong Sense of Coherence is needed to mobilize resources like social support. Interventions to promote health and wellbeing within a university setting should include a salutogenic focus. However, currently, research regarding salutogenesis within the higher education setting is lacking. Therefore, this study aims to make the first attempt to explore the relation between loneliness and the Students' Sense of Coherence (S-SoC) among university students. Methods. An online questionnaire was sent out to all university students from the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences (CUAS), Austria. The online questionnaire was completed by 584 students (response rate of 28.86 %); 67.3% were female, and the average age was 25.16 years ( SD = 6.27 years). Full-time students made up 75.6% of the sample, and 84.6% were in a Bachelor's degree program. The S-SoC and the sub-scales comprehensibility, meaningfulness and manageability were measured by using the valid S-SoC scale (Brunner et al., 2009). Social and emotional loneliness was measured by using the six-item De Jong Gierveld loneliness scale (Jong Gierveld & van Tilburg, 2006). Spearman correlations and Kruskal-Wallis H-tests were computed among all loneliness and S-SoC sub-scales and other variables (e.g., age, sex...). Furthermore, a graphical model was used to show structural relationships between loneliness and S-SoC and control variables. Results. The results showed that students feeling moderate or severe general loneliness had lower S-SoC scores than students feeling low or not general lonely. Manageability was a pivotal point in this model, as it was inversely proportional to both measures of loneliness. Perceived social loneliness was reported most by men and part-time students. Conclusion. In order to fulfill study-related demands, students activate appropriate resources (e.g., social support), which corresponds to low social and emotional loneliness. However, in the development of health promoting interventions against loneliness among students, it would be necessary to consider sex and mode of study and to address health needs and problems with a salutogenic focus.

Narcissism and relational capacity: the contribution of identity integration and social concordance

“…Individuals with a disintegrated identity thus have more difficulty integrating positive and negative representations of self and others, which makes them less able to interact with others (Di Pierro et al, 2018) and makes them more prone to criminal behavior along with isolated narcissists (Bogaerts et al, 2021). Similarly, isolated narcissists may have a less integrated identity due to their increased need for social isolation (Chu et al, 2016;Limarutti et al, 2021). In brief, in addition to supporting existing findings, our study provides direct evidence that identity integration may explain why vulnerable and isolated narcissists have a lower capacity to relate to others than grandiose narcissists.…”

“…With regard to isolated narcissism, there is no empirical evidence on how it relates to identity integration. However, a stronger sense of coherence has often been associated with lower levels of social isolation (Chu et al, 2016;Limarutti et al, 2021). Thus, because of their tendency to distance themselves from others, isolated narcissists might be expected to have a less integrated identity.…”

“…In line with the recent study (Bogaerts et al, 2021) we further hypothesized that grandiose narcissism would have a direct positive effect (path a11), while vulnerable narcissism would have a direct negative effect (path a21) on identity integration. There is no empirical evidence on the effect of isolated narcissism on identity integration, but given that isolated narcissists tend to distance themselves and that lower levels of social isolation were found to be associated with a stronger sense of coherence (Chu et al, 2016;Limarutti et al, 2021), we expected that isolated narcissism like vulnerable narcissism, would have a direct negative effect on identity integration (path a31). Similarly, we hypothesized that grandiose narcissism (e.g., Casale et al, 2019;Czarna et al, 2021; path a12) would have a direct positive effect, whereas vulnerable (e.g., Krizan & Johar, 2015; path a 22) and isolated narcissism (Ettema & Zondag, 2002;path a32) would have a direct negative effect on social concordance.…”

Confronting the Bullies, Comforting the Victim, or Reporting to University Staff? Prosocial Intentions Towards Social Exclusion in University Students

“…Research on students' well-being revealed that many experienced loneliness before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic, with 29-34% of students reporting high levels of loneliness (Akram et al, 2023;Limarutti et al, 2023;Sivertsen & Johansen, 2022). This sense of loneliness can be enhanced by social exclusion, belittling, and rumours, typical bullying actions among students (Buglass et al, 2021;Cowie & Myers, 2015).…”

Bienestar mental, sentido de coherencia y factores sociodemográficos en médicos residentes de medicina familiar

“…En la comprensión del constructo de salud, la salutogénesis nos ofrece otra perspectiva, de lo que es la promoción a la salud, la cual está centrada en el sentido de coherencia 18 , sustento teórico que explica el modo en que las personas deben poner en juego su sentido para percibir que son capaces de manejar cualquier situación -independientemente de lo que les esté sucediendo en su vida-y la habilidad para seleccionar el estilo de afrontamiento que mejor se ajuste a la situación dada 19 . En años recientes los constructos bienestar mental, sentido de coherencia y factores sociodemográficos aparecen con mayor frecuencia en publicaciones registradas en bases de datos cuyo objeto de estudio son los estudiantes universitarios, hecho indicativo que dicha asociación es plausible, cobra sentido, es creíble y desde luego sujeto a investigar [20][21][22][23][24] . En México, 25 instituciones de educación superior se reunieron en 2005 para integrar la Red Mexicana de Universidades Promotoras de la Salud 25 con el propósito de establecer bases interinstitucionales de apoyo y colaboración para convertirse en Universidades Saludables.…”