Brescia Psychology Undergraduate Honours Theses

Date of Award

4-14-2023

Program

Psychology

Supervisor

Dr. Christine Tenk

Abstract

This study evaluated university students’ levels of overall social connectedness, perceived stress, loneliness, and strength of social connection with different groups (family, friends, classmates, instructors, university community). Associations between the aforementioned factors were also investigated, and time-related changes to 2020-21 data during COVID-19. Undergraduate students (n = 100) at a university in London, Ontario, completed a questionnaire comprising the Social Connectedness Scale, questions about the strength of social connections with different groups, the UCLA Loneliness Scale, and the Perceived Stress Scale. A correlational analysis revealed significant, negative correlations between social connectedness and perceived stress and loneliness. A repeated measures ANOVA analysis revealed that family and friends were associated with higher levels of social connectedness and lower levels of perceived stress and loneliness. Higher levels of social connectedness in relation to in-person interactions compared to online interactions were also reported. Students’ levels of perceived stress appeared higher than in past research, as well as their levels of connection with classmates, instructors, and the university community in comparison to 2020-21 data.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License.

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