Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Loneliness In The Words Of First-Generation College Students, Emily Sardaryan, Ellen Galstian, Khanh Bui Dr.

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Loneliness is a painful awareness that one’s social relationships are less numerous or meaningful than one desires. To feel lonely is to feel excluded from a group, unloved by those surrounding oneself, unable to share one’s private concerns, or alienated from those in one’s surroundings. Loneliness might be particularly acute in first-generation college students. In addition to the usual challenges of adjusting to academic demands and the social life of college, first-generation college students have the challenges of being away from their home country, language, food, and more. We sought to understand loneliness in undergraduates’ own words as they described …