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

• Main Authors: Yousef Abdelqader Abu Shind (Author), Muna Abdullah Al-Bahrani (Author), Hussain Ali Alkharusi (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Indonesian Counselor Association (IKI), 2023-08-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.23916/0020230837510; 2548-348X; 2548-3498
• Keywords: Keywords; loneliness; Covid-19; fear; depression; university students; Education; L; Special aspects of education; LC8-6691
• Source: COUNS-EDU: The International Journal of Counseling and Education, Vol 8, Iss 1 (2023)

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.