Phillips Richard, Seaborne Katie, Goldsmith Angus, Curtis Natasha, Davies Adele, Haynes Will, McEnroe Rose, Murphy Nadia, O'Neill Lucy, Pacey Charlotte, Walker Edward, Wordley Elizabeth
Geography University of Sheffield Sheffield UK.
Geogr J. 2022 Jun;188(2):277-293. doi: 10.1111/geoj.12438. Epub 2022 Mar 31.
Loneliness has emerged as a problem for individuals and society. A group whose loneliness has recently grown in severity and visibility is students in higher education. Complementing media reports and surveys of students' lockdown loneliness, this paper presents qualitative research findings on students loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the how, why and where of student loneliness through research co-produced with undergraduate and postgraduate students. Student-researchers investigated loneliness as a function of relationships and interactions through self-interviews and peer interviews (= 46) and through objects, chosen by participants to represent their experiences of lockdown. This research led to three conclusions, each with a geographical focus. First, as the spaces in which students live and study were fragmented, interactions and relationships were disrupted. Second, students struggled to put down roots in their places of study. Without a sense of belonging-to the city and institution where they studied, and the neighbourhood and accommodation where they lived-they were more likely to experience loneliness. Third, many students were unable to progress through life transitions associated with late adolescence including leaving home, learning social skills, forming sexual relationships and emerging into adulthood. Those facing bigger changes such as bereavement struggled to process these events and spoke of feeling 'neither here nor there'-in limbo. But students displayed resilience, finding ways to cope with and mitigate their loneliness. Their coping strategies speak to the efforts of policymakers and practitioners-including those in universities, government, health and wellbeing services, and accommodation services-who are seeking ways to tackle students' (and other peoples') loneliness.
孤独已成为个人和社会面临的一个问题。高等教育阶段的学生群体，其孤独感近来在严重程度和受关注程度上都有所加剧。作为对媒体报道及学生疫情封控期间孤独感调查的补充，本文呈现了关于新冠疫情期间学生孤独感的定性研究结果。通过与本科生和研究生共同开展研究，探讨了学生孤独感产生的方式、原因及地点。学生研究人员通过自我访谈和同伴访谈（共46次）以及参与者选择的用以代表其封控经历的物品，将孤独感作为人际关系和互动的一种表现来进行调查。这项研究得出了三个结论，每个结论都聚焦于一个地理层面。第一，随着学生生活和学习空间的碎片化，互动和人际关系受到了干扰。第二，学生们难以在学习场所扎根。由于缺乏对所在城市、学校、居住社区和住处的归属感，他们更容易感到孤独。第三，许多学生无法顺利度过与青春期后期相关的生活转变，包括离家、学习社交技能、建立恋爱关系以及步入成年。那些面临诸如丧亲等更大变故的学生，难以应对这些事件，他们表示感觉“置身事外”——处于一种不确定的状态。但学生们展现出了韧性，找到了应对和减轻孤独感的方法。他们的应对策略对政策制定者和从业者——包括大学、政府、健康与福利服务机构以及住宿服务机构的人员——的努力具有启示意义，这些人正在寻找解决学生（以及其他人）孤独感的方法。
