Leiden University Student Repository

Diehl, Elisabetta Mrs (2022)

Loneliness and hopelessness as correlates of depressive symptoms in university students during the Covid-19 pandemic: The mediating role of resilience

Bachelor thesis | Psychologie (BSc)

The Covid-19 pandemic has been widely associated with an increase in depression levels in the student population. Recent studies have investigated loneliness and hopelessness as predicting factors for depressive symptoms during the pandemic. However, little research has been conducted to explore the possible mediating role of the students’ resilience in these associations. This study aimed to investigate the association between loneliness and depressive symptoms, and between hopelessness and depressive symptoms in students during the pandemic. A further aim was to investigate whether the students’ resilience played an important mediating role in both associations. University students (N=215) from Leiden University filled out an online questionnaire measuring their loneliness, hopelessness, resilience, and depressive symptoms during the Covid-19 pandemic. Two mediation analyses were conducted using Process macro in SPSS. Results showed that both loneliness and hopelessness were...Show moreThe Covid-19 pandemic has been widely associated with an increase in depression levels in the student population. Recent studies have investigated loneliness and hopelessness as predicting factors for depressive symptoms during the pandemic. However, little research has been conducted to explore the possible mediating role of the students’ resilience in these associations. This study aimed to investigate the association between loneliness and depressive symptoms, and between hopelessness and depressive symptoms in students during the pandemic. A further aim was to investigate whether the students’ resilience played an important mediating role in both associations. University students (N=215) from Leiden University filled out an online questionnaire measuring their loneliness, hopelessness, resilience, and depressive symptoms during the Covid-19 pandemic. Two mediation analyses were conducted using Process macro in SPSS. Results showed that both loneliness and hopelessness were positively associated with depressive symptoms. Resilience was found to play a mediating role in the loneliness-depressive symptoms association. However, resilience was not confirmed as a mediator in the hopelessness- depressive symptoms association. The results of this study imply a call for universities to provide accessible resources to students that help strengthen their resilience when faced with a major stressful life event. As resilience was found to be a mediator between loneliness and depressive symptoms, strategies to increase the students’ resilience could possibly prevent loneliness from further developing into depression. Strategies should also focus on decreasing loneliness and hopelessness levels in students as those factors were found to be associated with depressive symptoms during the Covid-19 pandemic.Show less

Author

Diehl, Elisabetta Mrs

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Specialisation

Clinical Psychology

Supervisors

Dr. Niki Antypa

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en