Biomaterial Database

Loneliness and psychological distress in everyday life among Latinx college students. 2023

Shun Ting Yung, and Yaoyu Chen, and Matthew J Zawadzki

Department of Psychological Sciences, University of California, Merced, California, USA.

Changes in surroundings and social relationships may heighten feelings of loneliness, suggesting the need to measure as a state. This study tested whether loneliness fluctuates within and across days and the resultant associations with psychological distress. Further it tested familism as a moderator as endorsing this cultural value may buffer the negative effects of state loneliness. Participants (n = 220) were Latinx undergraduate students. Students reported their loneliness levels and psychological distress twice a day for two weeks using an ecological momentary assessment approach. Results showed that experiencing a higher than usual level of loneliness predicted greater sadness, stress, and anxiety at both the moment-to-moment and day-to-day level. Familism, measured at baseline, only moderated the relationship between loneliness and sadness. The findings suggest being in a lonely moment may lead to the initiation or amplification of psychological distress immediately and the effects may linger over the day.Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2021.1927051.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008132	Loneliness	The state of feeling sad or dejected as a result of lack of companionship or being separated from others.	Homesickness
D006630	Hispanic or Latino	A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/1997/10/30/97-28653/revisions-to-the-standards-for-the-classification-of-federal-data-on-race-and-ethnicity). In the United States it is used for classification of federal government data on race and ethnicity. Race and ethnicity terms are self-identified social construct and may include terms outdated and offensive in MeSH to assist users who are interested in retrieving comprehensive search results for studies such as in longitudinal studies.	Cuban Americans,Hispanic Americans,Latin Americans, US,Latinas,Latinos,Latinx,Puerto Ricans,Spanish Americans,Hispanics,American, Hispanic,American, US Latin,Cuban American,Hispanic American,Hispanic or Latinos,Latin American, US,Latina,Latino,Puerto Rican,Spanish American,US Latin American,US Latin Americans
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000079225	Psychological Distress	Negative emotional state characterized by physical and/or emotional discomfort, pain, or anguish.	Emotional Distress,Distress, Emotional,Distress, Psychological
D013334	Students	Individuals enrolled in a school or formal educational program.	School Enrollment,Enrollment, School,Enrollments, School,School Enrollments,Student
D014495	Universities	Educational institutions providing facilities for teaching and research and authorized to grant academic degrees.	University