Perceived Social Support on Loneliness in College Students: A Brief Intervention

Loneliness is a significant public health concern in the United States and is a risk factor for worsened mental and physical health. College students historically experience high rates of loneliness, which the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated. While many supports exist to address loneliness, universities are unlikely to meet the needs of college students through professional support alone, furthering the need for brief, individually-guided interventions. College student participants (N = 111) were recruited and randomly assigned to one of two groups. Students in the experimental group were asked to write about and reflect upon instances of social support, and students in the control condition were asked to write about objects in the room around them. Those in the experimental group experienced higher levels of positive affect in comparison to controls, though these differences were not significant at a three-day follow-up. Students displayed similar levels of loneliness and perceived social support across experimental and control conditions. Future research may consider varying treatment frequency and duration to determine optimal intervention delivery, especially given the noted increase in positive affect. Findings from this study may be used to inform supplementary approaches within community-based and remotely delivered interventions to address college student wellbeing, as loneliness continues to present challenges to college student health.<p></p>