The Impacts of Reduced Social Interaction on the Loneliness of International Students

The Impacts of Reduced Social Interaction On The Loneliness Of International Students
Name Course Instructor Date
Research Question: How does the decline in social interaction affect international students' feelings of loneliness?
1 Introduction
Background Information
As an international student, I am keeping paying attention to the mental health of this group. According to an Australian study, most international students who participated in the study have experienced loneliness (Sawir et al., 2008).In the past few months, the restrictions caused by the epidemic have led to a decline in my social life. In this situation, I feel lonely more than ever. Therefore, I develop my research question: how does reduced social interaction affect international students' feelings of loneliness.
Different factors influence international students' successful transition into the host country, academic life, and international students' adjustment may be stunted because of isolation, social differences, cultural differences, and language barrier. However, willingness to interact with others and be outgoing can make it easier to interact and relate with students from the host country (Sawir et al., 2008). Social interaction and social isolation are closely intertwined since the lack of close social ties increases the risk of isolation and loneliness. Among lonely and social-isolated individuals, social interaction interventions are likely to reduce isolation. Being part of a social network, regardless of whether a small group enhances social contact, reduces the likelihood of members being lonely. Thus, here are my two hypotheses:
* Social interaction reduces feelings of loneliness and social isolation among international students.
* Social support reduces social isolation and protects against stress, and improves an individual's well-being.
Independent/dependent variables
Feelings of loneliness are the dependent variable where poor or lack of social contact is associated with the risk of loneliness and social isolation. A strong social support system is necessary to alleviate loneliness. A person seeks to intimidate relations and emotional connection and lacking this result in emotional loneliness (Nicolaisen & Thorsen, 2014). The independent variable is the decline in social interaction, which often leads to people being socially isolated. Weak social tie interactions are associated with loneliness, even for those who are not socially isolated (Lee & Ko, 2018).
Operational definitions for the variables
Social interaction is the exchange between or more people, including groups with reciprocal relations and cooperation, and sometimes competition. Loneliness is a subjective emotional experience linked to deficiencies in an individual’s social relationships (Nicolaisen & Thorsen, 2014). Loneliness is strongly associated with the quality of life, mental health, and social isolation, but social isolation is objective. Social support reflects the exchange of resources between two or more people where there is a perception that is meant to enhance the recipient’s well-being (Chiu et al., 2015). Socials support is associated with better mental health outcomes and well-being (Chiu et al., 2015).
Literature review
Szabo et al., 2016 highlight that experience cultural differences and acculturative stress are linked to higher anxiety levels among international students, partly because they have to adapt to a new culture. The need to adapt can be stressful, and it is more challenging to cope if there are feelings of loneliness. Social support for stressful situations can help alleviate this where individual needs and resources are provided through the social network (Szabo et al., 2016). The stress associated with the transition to a new culture is compounded by isolation in such environments. Yiying & Yuchun (2018) also affirmed that challenges linked to socio-cultural and psychological adjustment in education environments make it harder to adjust, especially when there is a lack of support and cultural differences.
There are different perceptions of what constitutes loneliness, but it is a negative experience experienced individually where the social environment does not meet what one expects. Lee & Ko (2018) focus more on social loneliness, which refers to social isolation because of the social network's inadequacy, while emotional loneliness is the feeling of discontent from the absence of attachment. Being isolated from their social environment is one cause of isolation, but an individual experiences more significant loneliness when there is a lack of solid tie interactions. Lee & Ko (2018) further reported that the lack of critical role of frequent interactions and strong tie interactions were associated with loneliness even when an individual was in a social environment.
Kotwal and colleagues (2021) investigated the impact of social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic and how this affected social isolation, social interaction, and loneliness among older adults. Covid- 19 restrictions made it harder to interact, and there were reported cases of worsening loneliness, partly because of worsening socialization and social isolation (Kotwal et al., 2021). Other research studies highlight that the lack of adequate personal and social support in an unfamiliar environment is associated with isolation and loneliness (Sawir et al., 2008). As researchers have noted, those in the process of adapting to unfamiliar cultural environments tend to experience a sense of loneliness when there is a loss of contact with friends and families.
How the present study will add to the existing literature
There was a focus on reaching socially isolated people who use the internet but significantly reduced social participation and contacts. The research did not use referrals and personal contacts to get to the participants as this would limit who participated. Identifying respondents from the first year to the fourth year was necessary to represent those with different degrees of academic pressure. While there are meanings of social relations considering factors associated with loneliness, it provides insights on how to deal with loneliness during and after the covid-19 pandemic.
2 Method
Participants
This nonexperimental project uses a quantitative methodology and is suited to using a self-administered survey to collect data. The target population was international students' both male and female would be asked to report demographic data and the UCLA Loneliness Scale or UCLA-3. Participants were contacted online before the survey. The participants were international students in the US who are contacted via their phones, and the Scale was completed online. There were those on a student visa and they all have home address is not in the US, which made it easier to get in contact with them in case of a follow-up. A sample of 40 participants is recruited and answers the questions in the UCLA-3. The sample consisted of 22 males and 18 female participants. all above 18 years and enrolled in a US university. 
Materials
The completion of the 20-item UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3) measures loneliness without using the word lonely, where the respondents rated the frequencies of their experiences. UCLA-3 is the short form variation of the UCLA Loneliness Scale, and various studies have reported on the construct validity and reliability of the instrument. The UCLA-3 can be a self-administered test or through face-to-face interviews. The scoring was based on a 4-point Likert scale “1=ever,” “2=rarely,” “3=sometimes,” and “4=always.” The scores were interpreted as being lonely based on the overall score, and the scores of some of the items are reversed. The scale consists of 20 questions scoring between which allows a minimum score of 20 and a maximum of 80.
Loneliness is a complex construct and there are several instruments expressly designed for their evaluation The UCLA Loneliness Scale, created by Russell, Peplau & Ferguson in 1978, is one of the scales. The instrument has been revised, updated, and validated in different samples. The purpose of this measuring instrument was to assess the perceived loneliness...