The association between loneliness, love styles and satisfaction with love life among Palestinian university students was examined in this study. Gender differences in loneliness, love styles and satisfaction with love life was examined as well as the relationship among these variables. The study included 500 students (63.6% females and 36.4% males), aged between 18 and 26 years. Data were collected using the Loneliness Scale (UCLA), Love Attitudes Scale (LAS), Satisfaction with Love Life Scale (SWLLS) and a Demographic Information Form. Analyses showed that there were no gender differences in loneliness. Significant gender differences were found on ludic, males were more in their love styles than were females. Loneliness was negatively associated with Eros, Storge and Pragma love styles, and with satisfaction with love life. Multiple regression analysis indicated that all the variables accounted for 18% of the variance in loneliness scores. Satisfaction with love life appears to be the best predictor of university student’s loneliness.
Loneliness is one of the most prevalent issues in modern society, affecting both young and elderly people. It is a negative experience (
Loneliness is a difficult and painful emotion. Loneliness is reliant on a social network and peer reinforcement. When people experience a disconnect between their ideal and actual social relationships, or when they are dissatisfied with their current relationships, they are more likely to feel lonely (
It is well understood that social relationships are extremely important in human life. There is an association between satisfying social relationships and good mental health, since people who have problems with their interpersonal relationships are more likely to suffer from psychological issues like anxiety and depression, as well as loneliness (
Regarding loneliness, it has been studied in various groups of society, for instance, among adolescents (
About Arabic students there is some evidence that Arabic students have many psychological, social and global relationships problems at university (
Regarding the association of loneliness with gender, some studies indicate no gender differences (
Loneliness is influenced by two essential indicators: love and satisfaction with love life. Over the last three decades, love has sparked a surge of interest in interpersonal relationship psychology studies (
Recently love has been examined with its various aspects in psychology for youth people in western countries, but after review of the literature in Arab world as well as in Palestine love has not been clearly studied. There is very little information about romantic conduct and intimate contact in Muslim countries in the Middle East, which is socially unacceptable. As the world has changed, romantic relationships have become a social reality in the Muslim world. Young people want love in their lives, so academic institutions should provide opportunities for them to experience and converse with one another (
Before marriage, most Arabic cultures place constraints on women and men's romantic relationships (Ilhub is the most popular Arabic word for "love"). Marriage, as in many collectivist cultures, is a collective problem since it is the family who determines who their members will marry, not the people themselves (
Love is approached and viewed differently by different people. Love has been studied in a variety of ways by various researchers and scholars who have described it and measured it using a variety of scales. According to
This study adds to previous studies by concentrating on university students' attempts to consider love styles. During their university years, university students often fall in love. (
Positive emotions, such as being in love, were found to have important associations with happiness and life satisfaction in research that focused on positive emotions (
There is some evidence that loneliness is negatively correlated with Eros love style for males and females, and positively correlated with Pragma for females and Ludus for males (
Regarding the association love styles with gender some studies suggest that males present more Ludic, Storgic, Pragmatic and Agapic (
However, other studies found that females were more Storgic, Pragmatic, Manic and Erotic in their love styles (
Satisfaction with love life has been developed by
Satisfaction with love life is a global cognitive dimension of individuals’ love life (
There have been a few studies on the association between loneliness and love life satisfaction. Loneliness is linked to dissatisfaction with one's love life among university students (
The aim of this study is to determine the relationships between loneliness, love styles, and satisfaction with love life among Palestinian university students. The relationships between these variables are examined separately by gender and together in this analysis. Furthermore, this research looked into whether these factors play a role in explaining loneliness. In view of the scarcity and lack of studies in this area in Palestine, this study will provide additional information and awareness about the characteristics of university students as well as the current state of Arab culture.
The most important determinant of loneliness among university students is social relationships, since studies have shown that the students with weak social relationships feel more loneliness than others (
An extensive search of the literature failed to find any published study on loneliness and its relationship with love styles and satisfaction with love life undertaken with a Palestinian sample. The purpose of the present study is to examine the gender differences in loneliness as well as to explore the association between loneliness, love styles and satisfaction with love life in a sample of Palestinian university students. We will explore also the predictors of loneliness.
In accordance with this purpose, one research question and three hypotheses were formulated:
RQ1: Are there significant differences in the degree of loneliness, love styles and satisfaction with love life according to gender?
Hypothesis 1: For both gender Loneliness and Eros, Storge, and Pragma love styles will be negatively associated.
Hypothesis 2: For both gender Loneliness will be negatively associated with satisfaction with love life.
Hypothesis 3: For both gender Satisfaction with Love life will predict loneliness beyond the love styles.
A total of 500 university students, who were enrolled in different courses and different faculties of An-Najah National University in Nablus, Palestine, participated in the study in the academic year 2016–2017. Regarding gender, 63.6% of surveyed university students (318) were female, 36.4% (182) were male. The age of the participants ranged from 18 to 26 years (63.4% of participants were 18 to 21 years old, and 36.6% were 22 to 26 years old). Thirty-six percent were attending a course in sciences and 64% in humanities. About 13.2% of the participants were in the fifth year, 39.2% in the fourth year, 17.2% in the third year, 14.4% in the second year, and about 16% in the first year (see
Demographic variable | Frequency | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Gender | ||
Males | 182 | 36.4 |
Females | 318 | 63.6 |
Age | ||
18–21 | 317 | 63.4 |
22–26 | 183 | 36.6 |
Faculty | ||
Scientific | 180 | 36.0 |
Humanity | 320 | 64.0 |
Study level | ||
First year | 80 | 16.0 |
Second year | 72 | 14.4 |
Third year | 86 | 17.2 |
Fourth year | 196 | 39.2 |
Fifth year | 66 | 13.2 |
This form was used to gather detailed information on basic demographics such as student's age and gender, family income, family size, housing conditions, place of residence, accommodation, faculty, and study level attended by students.
UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) Loneliness Scale was developed by
SWLLS was developed by
LAS was developed by
The data was gathered from a sample of undergraduate students from several faculties at An-Najah National University, Palestine. The measures were administered to the participants during a class time by the first author. The purpose of the study was explained to the students. Participants were asked not to write their names or identifying information on any of the questionnaires, to ensure their anonymity. Completing the questionnaire package took students approximately 1 hour.
Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Independent sample
Means and standard deviations of UCLA, SWLLS, and love attitudes by gender were calculated. Kurtosis and skewness coefficients were checked to assess univariate normality because multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) requires normally distributed data (
Variable | Male ( |
Female ( |
||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ku | KuSE | Sk | SkSE | Ku | KuSE | Sk | SkSE | |||||
UCLA | 38.73 | 9.56 | .50 | .39 | .50 | .18 | 37.45 | 8.83 | .10 | .27 | .50 | .14 |
SWLLS | 23.74 | 5.30 | .58 | .36 | −.72 | .18 | 24.72 | 5.02 | −.02 | .27 | −.66 | .14 |
Eros | 21.50 | 7.63 | −.52 | .36 | −.27 | .18 | 21.03 | 8.76 | −.98 | .27 | −.21 | .14 |
Ludus | 17.47 | 5.13 | −.58 | .36 | −.14 | .18 | 16.00 | 6.13 | .03 | .27 | .46 | .14 |
Storge | 22.31 | 5.84 | −.27 | .36 | −.27 | .36 | 21.90 | 5.44 | .30 | .27 | −.37 | .14 |
Pragma | 24.16 | 5.67 | .008 | .36 | −.23 | .18 | 25.13 | 6.51 | .19 | .27 | −.70 | .14 |
Mania | 19.87 | 5.44 | .21 | .36 | −.15 | .18 | 20.92 | 5.87 | −.16 | .27 | −.25 | .14 |
Agape | 23.52 | 6.00 | .33 | .36 | −.27 | .18 | 22.75 | 6.52 | .02 | .27 | −.30 | .14 |
As presented all study variables did not violate the normality assumption, where skewness and kurtosis coefficients ranged between +1 and –1 which indicate that data were normally distributed by gender. Furthermore, the study checked the normality assumption for all variables for whole sample (
Preliminary tests were conducted to check assumptions of multicollinearity and homogeneity of variance for all dependent variables. In order to test the absence of multicollinearity between the study variables, Pearson correlation coefficients were computed to investigate the pattern of correlations between the study variables because conducting MANOVA requires that the dependent variables should all be moderately related, and any correlation over .80 indicates to the presence of multicollinearity (
Variable | UCLA | SWLLS | Eros | Ludus | Storge | Pragma | Mania | Agape |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Male ( |
||||||||
UCLA | 1 | |||||||
SWLLS | −.345** | 1 | ||||||
Eros | −.200** | .338** | 1 | |||||
Ludus | −.180** | −.155* | .257** | 1 | ||||
Storge | −.157* | .253** | .507** | .297** | 1 | |||
Pragma | −.204** | .244** | .379** | .075 | .558** | 1 | ||
Mania | .055 | .060 | .330** | .327** | .418** | .316** | 1 | |
Agape | −.101 | .317** | .545** | .067 | .505** | .418** | .463** | 1 |
UCLA | 1 | |||||||
SWLLS | −.437** | 1 | ||||||
Eros | −.205** | .243** | 1 | |||||
Ludus | −.054 | −.075 | .338** | 1 | ||||
Storge | −.103 | .192** | .510** | .315** | 1 | |||
Pragma | −.189** | .336** | .303** | .093 | .482** | 1 | ||
Mania | −.017 | −.052 | .500** | .336** | .511** | .350** | 1 | |
Agape | −.061 | .076 | .476** | .087 | .464** | .424** | .672** | 1 |
*
As shown all correlation coefficients ranged between weak to moderate values for males and females which indicate the absence of multicollinearity among the study variables.
The assumptions of homogeneity of variances was assessed. Levene’s test was used to verify the equality of variances in all dependent variables by gender. Levene’s test results revealed that the homogeneity of variances was met (
The results indicated that there were no violations of the MANOVA assumptions. Wilks’s lambda was used to evaluate all multivariate effects and effect sizes for
Dependent variable | Gender |
Wilks' Lambda | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Male |
Female |
|||||||
UCLA | 38.73 | 9.56 | 37.45 | 8.83 | .932 | 2.274 | .132 | .005 |
SWLLS | 23.74 | 5.30 | 24.72 | 5.02 | .932 | 4.300 | .039* | .009 |
Eros | 21.50 | 7.63 | 21.03 | 8.76 | .932 | 0.363 | .547 | .001 |
Ludus | 17.47 | 5.13 | 16.00 | 6.13 | .932 | 7.432 | .007** | .015 |
Storge | 22.31 | 5.84 | 21.90 | 5.44 | .932 | 0.644 | .432 | .001 |
Pragma | 24.16 | 5.67 | 25.13 | 6.51 | .932 | 2.763 | .097 | .006 |
Mania | 19.87 | 5.44 | 20.92 | 5.87 | .932 | 3.833 | .051 | .008 |
Agape | 23.52 | 6.00 | 22.75 | 6.52 | .932 | 1.686 | .195 | .003 |
*
Overall MANOVA revealed statistically significant minor effect of gender in SWLLS,
In order to test the third hypothesis, and to investigate the predictive value of love styles (Eros, Ludus, Storge, Pragma, Mania and Agape) and satisfaction with love life in loneliness, a multiple regression analysis was conducted by gender. The results are presented in
Variable | β | Standardized β | Adjusted |
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Male ( |
|||||||||
Constant | 48.71 | 4.68 | 5.65 | .000** | .185 | .153 | |||
SWLLS | −0.45 | 0.14 | −0.25 | −3.24 | .001** | ||||
Eros | −0.20 | 0.11 | −0.16 | −1.79 | .075 | ||||
Ludus | 0.35 | 0.15 | 0.19 | 2.36 | .019* | ||||
Storge | −0.17 | 0.16 | −0.10 | −1.06 | .290 | ||||
Pragma | −0.19 | 0.14 | −0.11 | −1.33 | .185 | ||||
Mania | 0.16 | 0.15 | 0.09 | 1.06 | .289 | ||||
Agape | 0.18 | 0.15 | 0.11 | 1.19 | .235 | ||||
Female ( |
|||||||||
Constant | 57.73 | 3.14 | 11.56 | .000** | .207 | .189 | |||
SWLLS | −0.72 | 0.10 | −0.41 | −7.08 | .000** | ||||
Eros | −0.011 | 0.07 | −0.11 | −1.62 | .106 | ||||
Ludus | −0.09 | 0.09 | −0.06 | −1.06 | .288 | ||||
Storge | 0.10 | 0.11 | 0.06 | 0.940 | .348 | ||||
Pragma | −0.07 | 0.09 | −0.05 | −0.854 | .394 | ||||
Mania | 0.03 | 0.12 | 0.02 | 0.229 | .819 | ||||
Agape | 0.01 | 0.10 | 0.01 | 0.128 | .899 |
*
As presented in
One of the main purposes of this research was to examine gender differences in loneliness, love styles, and satisfaction with love life among Palestinian university students, as well as the relationship between loneliness and other variables. The overall findings of this research are consistent with those of other studies; however, some of the conclusions are contradicted or supported by the findings.
There were no statistically significant differences in loneliness among university students according to gender. These results are in line with the previous research showing no gender difference in loneliness (
In general, there are no gaps or inequality between males and females in terms of cultural and educational backgrounds in Palestinian society; they are all experiencing and living almost identical conditions, which is expressed at the level of loneliness without gender differences (
Several studies conflict with the current study findings, study results from (
There are only two love styles were across genders, that males were more ludic in their love than females, which is in accordance with the results among USA university students (
As hypothesized, for both gender Loneliness was found to be negatively correlated with Eros, Storge, Ludus and Pragma love styles. These results are in agreement with
As hypothesized, for both gender in the current study, a significant correlation between loneliness and satisfaction with love life was detected. Loneliness was found to be negatively correlated with satisfaction with love life. A significant relationship between loneliness and satisfaction with love life has been revealed by some studies. These studies suggest that satisfaction with love life appear to decrease one’s sense of loneliness. This result is in agreement with
As hypothesized, for both gender the predictive role of the study variables regarding university student’s loneliness was examined. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that, Ludus love style and satisfaction with love life were significant predictors for university student’s loneliness. Eros, Pragma, Mania, Storge and Agape love styles were not predictors.
Other factors may be accounting for the remaining variation in loneliness scores among university students. Other causes, such as self-disclosure, have been linked to university student loneliness in the literature (
According to the results of this research, satisfaction with one's love life, Ludus love styles are significant predictors of loneliness among university students. Loneliness and negative effects among university students can be exacerbated by a lack of emotions such as passion and a low level of satisfaction with love life. However, it is important to remember that Palestinian university students are at risk of developing loneliness as a result of their poor living conditions in Palestine, which have been exacerbated by the Israeli occupation and insecure environment for a long time, even that the mean level of loneliness among the students are less than 40 on the UCLA scale, which have 20 items with score range of 20–80, higher score indicating a higher level of loneliness, that means the loneliness mean is almost low, so may that means they have high level of resilience to deal their life events. Students were more likely to be not lonely if they had a romantic relationship and felt as if they had satisfaction with their love life. As a result, more emphasis should be placed on promoting satisfaction with love life and love styles in order to reduce the levels of loneliness among university students (
This study contributed to an increase of the understanding of loneliness and its association with love styles and satisfaction with love life among Palestinian university students. The results have implications for the decrease of university students’ loneliness. Although the research has reached its aims there were some unavoidable limitations. First of all, data collection was conducted among university students at An-Najah national university during a short period of time in their classes. Some students became annoyed with the length of the questionnaires used in the study and found them difficult to answer by focusing on all items. Second, the sample was from only one university in Palestine, and although this is the larger one, might not represent the majority of the university students in Palestine Third, a qualitative study may be able to provide more information in the subject of loneliness and love styles, because this kind of study able to ask more direct questions about both loneliness and love styles which can be answering and discussion in different way. Fourth, loneliness, love and satisfaction with love life were measured at one time, that means may does not allow for examination the levels and patterns in loneliness love and satisfaction with love life. Finally, the questionnaires were designed to measure the students’ loneliness, love styles and satisfaction with love life, and gives useful information about these subjects, especially love styles among university students, which have a few information in Palestine. Even the students may make their real feeling and answers different from what they already answered. In spite of these limitations, the results of this study are suitable for use in research and social counseling with Palestinian university students.
The current study significantly added to the literature into essential ideas about the association between loneliness, love styles, and satisfaction with love life among Palestinian university students. It is possible to say that the current study findings about loneliness, love styles and satisfaction with love life improvement programs may have a preventive function if it applied by counseling services to the university students. Counsellors may teach the students useful social skills to increase the possibility of developing their relationships. By increasing the social activities, awareness programs and knowledge through training courses and educational lectures about nature of their relationships which may can increase the students’ satisfaction and decrease loneliness.
More indicators of individual and social are required that will allow for more researches of the individual and cultural level of values and other variables on loneliness, love styles and satisfaction with love life among the Palestinian population. However, there is a scarcity of the studies in Palestinian society which is examining loneliness, love, and satisfaction with love life, and it will be useful to put a basic for another future research based on the current study results, that help the people how to respond to the loneliness. It will be also useful for the counselors and the psychologists by makes important interventions aimed at reducing loneliness and it is causes through improvement individual love attitudes and increasing satisfaction with love life. Future research needs to explain the reliability of Ludic love style according to gender differences in university students, which the current study found that males were more Ludic than females.
The authors have no funding to report.
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
The authors have no additional (i.e., non-financial) support to report.
The research project was not assessed by an ethics committee as in An-Najah University no ethics committee exists. Permission from the administration of An-Najah National University was obtained to allow the researcher to enter the classrooms to conduct data collection. All ethical procedures regarding data collection were followed. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. They completed the questionnaires during their classes in the presence of the researcher. The questionnaires were presented in Arabic for all participants. This was considered an adequate procedure, as all participants were fluent in Arabic.
This article was written within the scope of the thesis of the first author (