Navigating loneliness: the interplay of social relationships and coping skills

ABSTRACT

This study explores the (characteristics of) social relationships and coping efforts that protect emerging adults from feeling lonely. The research question is ‘what do emerging adults need in order to not feel lonely?’. Semi-structured interviews with university students from the Netherlands (N = 29; 20–26 years) were conducted between November 2021 and February 2022. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. All participants had experiences with loneliness. In order to not feel lonely, participants needed functional, available social relationships with specific others. Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of social relationships were discussed. Furthermore, participants needed to know and accept themselves and to have realistic expectations about others. In terms of coping, participants made active efforts to improve social relationships and altered expectations about others. The results are discussed in line with social discrepancy theory, coping theory, and characteristics of the life phase of emerging adulthood. Implications for loneliness interventions are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Loneliness
• emerging adulthood
• social relationships
• coping

Acknowledgements

We thank Lisha Sophia and Michelle Verstegen for assisting in data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, E.S., upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Nationaal Regieorgaan Praktijkgericht Onderzoek SIA [HBOPD.2018.05.018].