The Relationship of Loneliness with Psychological Well-Being and Rumination in College students: Investigating the Mediating Role of Perceived Stress

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 M.A in Clinical Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Education and Psychology, Shiraz University, Shiraz.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Education and Psychology, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between loneliness and psychological well-being and rumination of students, while investigating the mediating role of perceived stress in this relationship.

Method: A sample of 360 students at Shiraz University were selected in 2023 by multi-stage cluster sampling accross 8 school of the university. The method of this research is correlational and descriptive. The psychological well-being questionnaire (short form) by Rieff (1989), the rumination questionnaire by Nolen-Hoeksma and Moro (1991), the loneliness questionnaire by Russell (1996) and the perceived stress questionnaire by Cohen (1983) were used to collect research data. For data analysis, Pearson correlation, regression tests and amos software were used for path analysis and model presentation.

Result: After testing the hypotheses of path analysis and their confirmation, a hypothesized model was identified, which was tested along with the direct and indirect effects. Results indicated that loneliness significantly predicts psychological well-being and rumination, both directly and through perceived stress. Finally, the model's fit indices were found to be satisfactory.

Discussion and Conclusion: The findings highlight the importance of loneliness and perceived stress in negative mental health outcomes. Increased levels of loneliness are accompanied by increased levels of perceived stress, which in turn decrease psychological well-being and increase rumination. Therefore, it is crucial to prevent or curtail loneliness and perceived stress among the youth.

Keywords

Clinical Psychology and Personality

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 12 June 2024

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