The experience of loneliness among international students participating in the BBC Loneliness Experiment: thematic analysis of qualitative survey data
dc.contributor.author | Zheng, K | |
dc.contributor.author | Johnson, S | |
dc.contributor.author | Jarvis, R | |
dc.contributor.author | Victor, C | |
dc.contributor.author | Barreto, M | |
dc.contributor.author | Qualter, P | |
dc.contributor.author | Pitman, A | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2023-05-16T14:28:09Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2023-05-15 | |
dc.date.updated | 2023-05-16T10:28:52Z | |
dc.description.abstract | Loneliness is associated with poor mental and physical health in the general population. It is thought to be prevalent among international students, but few studies have investigated this. To capture what loneliness means in the everyday lives of international students we analysed data from 521 international students aged 16-40 years who participated online in the 2018 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Loneliness Experiment. Using the approach of thematic analysis of free‐text responses to a question probing the perceived meaning of loneliness, we identified six main themes: (1) Negative psychological and social aspects of loneliness; (2) The distressing experience of being alone; (3) Disrupted ability to make meaningful connections; (4) Sense of entrapment in a state of loneliness; (5) Awareness of others’ stigmatising perceptions of oneself as lonely; (6) Perceptions of positive aspects of loneliness. These findings identified a range of negative social and psychological dimensions of loneliness in international students in relation to their well-being, emotional health, and social functioning, hampering the benefits to be gained from their overseas study. Higher education teaching staff, pastoral staff, and mental health professionals need to be more aware of the prevalence and impacts of loneliness and should tackle it in culturally appropriate ways. | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | Wellcome Trust | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | UK Research and Innovation | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | University College London Hospitals (UCLH) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) | en_GB |
dc.identifier.citation | Vol. 4, article 100113 | |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1016/j.crbeha.2023.100113 | |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | 209625/Z/17/Z | en_GB |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | ES/S004440/1 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/133149 | |
dc.identifier | ORCID: 0000-0002-6973-7233 (Barreto, Manuela) | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | Elsevier | en_GB |
dc.relation.url | https://www.seed.manchester.ac.uk/education/research/impact/bbc-loneliness-experiment/ | en_GB |
dc.rights | © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) | |
dc.subject | Loneliness | en_GB |
dc.subject | international students | en_GB |
dc.subject | qualitative | en_GB |
dc.subject | survey | en_GB |
dc.subject | mental health | en_GB |
dc.subject | wellbeing | en_GB |
dc.title | The experience of loneliness among international students participating in the BBC Loneliness Experiment: thematic analysis of qualitative survey data | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2023-05-16T14:28:09Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 2666-5182 | |
dc.description | This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this record | en_GB |
dc.description | Data availability: Access to data is via formal application to Professor Pamela Qualter, University of Manchester https://www.seed.manchester.ac.uk/education/research/impact/bbc-loneliness-experiment/ | en_GB |
dc.identifier.journal | Current Research in Behavioral Sciences | en_GB |
dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | en_GB |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2023-05-12 | |
dcterms.dateSubmitted | 2023-02-09 | |
rioxxterms.version | VoR | en_GB |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2023-05-15 | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | en_GB |
refterms.dateFCD | 2023-05-16T10:28:56Z | |
refterms.versionFCD | AM | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2023-05-26T13:46:00Z | |
refterms.panel | A | en_GB |
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's licence is described as © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)