The Relationship Between Fear, Loneliness, and Depression Among University Students: A Structural Equation Model

  • Yousef Abdelqader Abu Shind
    Sultan Qaboos University
    Oman
  • Muna Abdullah Al-Bahrani 
    Sultan Qaboos University
    Oman
  • Hussain Ali Alkharusi
    Sultan Qaboos University
    Oman

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test the causal relationship among fear of Covid-19, loneliness, and depression from Covid-19. The study sample consisted of 605 undergraduate students recruited from a public university. They completed three scales: fear of Covid-19, depression from Covid-19, and loneliness. The results revealed a good fit index for the proposed path model. The fear of Covid-19 predicted two types of loneliness emotional and social negatively. A positive association between depression and emotional as well as social loneliness was found. A total of 43% of the variance in depression was explained by loneliness.  Depression was potentially a mediating factor between a fear of pandemic and the feeling of loneliness. A counseling intervention can be designed based on these results.

Keywords
  • Covid-19
  • depression
  • fear
  • loneliness
  • university students
  • Oman
Lisensing Information
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite
Abu Shind, Y. A., Al-Bahrani, M. A., & Alkharusi, H. A. (2023). The Relationship Between Fear, Loneliness, and Depression Among University Students: A Structural Equation Model. COUNS-EDU: The International Journal of Counseling and Education, 8(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.23916/0020230837510
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