Campus Location

Abilene Campus (Residential)

Date of Award

5-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Social Work

Degree Name

Master of Science

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Malcolm Scott

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Stephanie Hamm

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Bre Heinrich

Abstract

The concept known as “social isolation” is a problem that affects many people, but there are certain populations that do not have adequate research performed on them. Specifically, college students face a risk of social isolation that is detrimental to their well-being and academic success, and there is a gap in the literature about this relationship. This study explored the prevalence of social isolation in college students at a Christian college in West Texas and examined various factors to determine whether any protective factors or at-risk factors existed. An online survey was sent out that used 11 demographic factor questions and a 6-instrument scale called the Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS-6). The survey had 214 participants. The study also tested the LSNS-6 and its validity to be used with college students. The findings indicated that social isolation prevalence in college students is 8.4% and that there are three protective factors and at- risk factors that influence the risk for social isolation. The study also found the LSNS-6 to be valid when used with college students. The protective factors are being White, Christian, and heterosexual, and the at-risk factors are being female, being a freshman, and having a GPA of 2.6 or lower. This study provides more understanding into how social isolation operates and helps to facilitate future research to examine social isolation and college students.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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