Mental health and loneliness in university students: A structural equation modelling comparing Italy and the UK

Ilaria Riboldi, Cristina Crocamo, Susanna Piacenti, Chiara Alessandra Capogrosso, Angela Calabrese, Susanna Lucini Paioni, Francesco Bartoli, Jo Armes, Cath Taylor and Giuseppe CarrÃ

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2025, vol. 71, issue 8, 1574-1586

Abstract: Background: The transition to university often leads to increased demands and changes in lifestyle habits, which may affect mental health. In particular, loneliness could play a key role in the onset of psychological distress. Although many patterns are consistent across countries, cultural differences may influence students’ mental health and feelings of loneliness. Aims: The aim of this study was thus to examine mental health domains and their relationship with loneliness among students from the University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy) and the University of Surrey (United Kingdom). Method: Data were from the CAMPUS study, a cross-national survey on students’ mental health. A structural equation modelling (SEM) approach was carried out to simultaneously test the pathways between loneliness and clinical domains in the two populations. Results: Anxiety and depressive symptoms were identified as the most common conditions in both the samples. However, Italian students were likely to show a higher degree of anxiety ( t  = 7.01, p  

Keywords: Education; loneliness; mental health; social interaction; students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:71:y:2025:i:8:p:1574-1586

DOI: 10.1177/00207640251346273

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