Percepción de soledad y niveles de depresión en jóvenes universitarios del Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract: Student life goes through several stages and carries with it transitions, going to university is one of them, during this phaseyoung people find themselves in a new context, face different challenges and responsibilities generating difficulties or stressful situations, and as a consequence the mental health of students can be affected. For this reason, the present investigation aimed to determine the relationship between perception of loneliness and depression in university students, with a sample of 3850 participants aged between 17 and 24 years (M=20.83; SD=1.72), the methodology used was non-experimental, quantitative, cross-sectional and descriptive/correlational. Information was collected using the AD HOC sociodemographic questionnaire, the UCLA-R Loneliness Scale, and the PHQ-9 Questionnaire. The results show high prevalences in the perception of loneliness and depression, with a significant difference depending on the sex of the participants; finally, it was found that there is a moderate positive correlation, determining that university students with a high perception of loneliness are likely to suffer from higher levels of depression, or vice versa.