Loneliness of first-year university students during COVID–19 pandemic

Cilj ovog rada bio je ispitati razlike u usamljenosti studenata prve godine preddiplomskog i integriranog preddiplomskog i diplomskog studija s obzirom na rod i način slušanja nastave te ispitati prediktivnost veličine mjesta u kojem je provedena većina života, samopoštovanja, zadovoljstva životom, mentalnog zdravlja (depresivnosti, anksioznosti i stresa), bliskosti s obitelji te čestine kontaktiranja s obitelji i prijateljima za usamljenost. Provedeno je online istraživanje anketnog tipa na uzorku od 263 studenta (74.1% studentica) Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. Primijenjene su skale koje mjere usamljenost, samopoštovanje, zadovoljstvo životom, mentalno zdravlje te su prikupljeni demografski podaci i podaci o učestalosti kontaktiranja s obitelji i prijateljima uživo i na daljinu te bliskosti s obitelji. Nisu utvrđene razlike u usamljenosti s obzirom na rod niti način slušanja nastave. S druge strane, interakcijski efekt roda i načina slušanja nastave je značajan te ukazuje na to da su najusamljenije bile studentice koje su nastavu slušale isključivo online, a najmanje su usamljeni studenti koji su nastavu slušali isključivo online. Značajnim prediktorima usamljenosti pokazali su se zadovoljstvo životom, depresivnost i učestalost kontaktiranja uživo s prijateljima. Viša razina usamljenosti povezana je s nižim zadovoljstvom životom, rjeđim kontaktiranjem s prijateljima uživo i višom depresivnosti Rezultati istraživanja upućuju na to kako online nastava nema apsolutno negativan učinak na sve studente te pruža uvid u varijable na koje bi se moglo djelovati s ciljem smanjenja usamljenosti, poput ohrabrivanja češćeg kontakta s prijateljima uživo.The aim of this study was to examine the differences in the loneliness of first-year students with regard to gender and the way of attending classes and to examine the size of the place where most of life was spent, self-esteem, life satisfaction, mental health (depression, anxiety and stress), closeness to family and the frequency of contact with family and friends as possible predictors of loneliness. An online survey was conducted with 263 University of Zagreb students (74.1% female) as participants. They completed a questionnaire containing loneliness, life satisfaction, self-esteem and mental health scales. They also reported on demographic characteristics, the frequency of contact with family and friends live and remote, and closeness to family. No differences in loneliness were found with regard to gender or the way of attending classes. The interaction effect of gender and the way of attending classes was significant, indicating that the loneliest were female students who attended classes exclusively online, and the least lonely were male students who attended classes exclusively online. Lower life satisfaction, rare live contacts with friends and higher depression were significant predictors of loneliness. The results of the research suggest that attending classes online does not have an absolutely negative effect on all students and provides insight into variables that can be influenced in order to reduce loneliness, such as encouraging more frequent live contact with friends