Madhuri Maurya, Vandana Gupta and A.K. Srivastav
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Loneliness is the most growing problem in the whole world and becomes horrible
during the COVID-19 period, especially among early adults. It has been linked to poor
psychological well-being and common mental disorders. Certain behaviours can be
both an influencing factor and a consequence of loneliness. Loneliness is a transient
experience in people’s lives because it is influenced by circumstances and changes.
So, it is necessary to find out the factors influencing loneliness during the COVID-19
period. Purposive and snowball sampling selected 260 adults aged 20 to 40 years
(mean = 25.80, SD = 4.32). Participants of the study were administered through Google
Form by the UCLA loneliness scale, Preference for solitude scale, Pittsburgh sleep
quality index-short Form, Cognitive failure questionnaire, and Psychological general
well-being index measures. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and hierarchical
multiple regression analysis were run through SPSS. Results: Participants› education,
psychological well-being, and preference for solitude are the best predictors of loneliness.
The correlation coefficient shows that participants› age, education, health satisfaction,
and diet satisfaction were significantly correlated with loneliness. Loneliness was not
associated with gender, occupation, marital status, living status, medicine intake,
previous health issues or diseases, and sunlight exposure during the COVID pandemic.
Among early adults’ loneliness was predicted by their education level, psychological
well-being, and solitude preferences. The present study has practical implications for
developing diversified interventions to alleviate loneliness and enhance well-being.