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Loneliness and International Students: An Australian Study

September 2007
Journal of Studies in International Education 12(2):148-180

DOI:10.1177/1028315307299699

Authors:

Simon Marginson

University College London

Ana Deumert

University of Cape Town

Chris Nyland

Monash University (Australia)

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In a study of international student security, consisting of 200 intensive interviews with students, resident onshore in Australia, it was found that two thirds of the group had experienced problems of loneliness and/or isolation, especially in the early months. According to Weiss, students experience both personal loneliness because of the loss of contact with families and social loneliness because of the loss of networks. Both forms of loneliness are at times exacerbated by their experiences in institutional sites. The article discusses the coping mechanisms that students use. It identifies a third kind of loneliness experienced by international students, cultural loneliness, triggered by the absence of the preferred cultural and/or linguistic environment. This can affect even students with adequate personal and social support. Thus, same-culture networks are often crucial for international students. Yet same-culture networks are not a universal panacea: They cannot substitute for adequate pastoral care by universities or ensure satisfactory engagement with local cultures, so some causes of cultural loneliness often remain. The article concludes that the creation of stronger bonds between international and local students in the educational setting, helping international students to remake their own cultural maps on their own terms, is key to a forward move on loneliness.

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International Education

Journal of Studies in

DOI: 10.1177/1028315307299699

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2008; 12; 148 originally publishedJournal of Studies in International Education

Erlenawati Sawir, Simon Marginson, Ana Deumert, Chris Nyland and Gaby Ramia

Loneliness and International Students: An Australian Study

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148

Journal of Studies in International Education, Vol. 12 No. 2, Summer 2008 148-180

DOI: 10.1177/1028315307299699

Loneliness and International Students:

An Australian Study

Erlenawati Sawir

Simon Marginson

Ana Deumert

Chris Nyland

Gaby Ramia

In a study of international student security, consisting of 200 intensive interviews with

students, resident onshore in Australia, it was found that two thirds of the group had

experienced problems of loneliness and/or isolation, especially in the early months.

According to Weiss, students experience both personal loneliness because of the loss

of contact with families and social loneliness because of the loss of networks. Both

forms of loneliness are at times exacerbated by their experiences in institutional sites.

The article discusses the coping mechanisms that students use. It identifies a third

kind of loneliness experienced by international students, cultural loneliness, triggered

by the absence of the preferred cultural and/or linguistic environment. This can affect

even students with adequate personal and social support. Thus, same-culture net-

works are often crucial for international students. Yet same-culture networks are not

a universal panacea: They cannot substitute for adequate pastoral care by universi-

ties or ensure satisfactory engagement with local cultures, so some causes of cultural

loneliness often remain. The article concludes that the creation of stronger bonds

between international and local students in the educational setting, helping inter-

national students to remake their own cultural maps on their own terms, is key to a

forward move on loneliness.

Keywords: international students; social and economic security; loneliness; coping

strategies; networks; cross-cultural relationships

No man is an Iland,

intire of it selfe;

every man is a peece of the Continent,

a part of the maine;

if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse...

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Sawir et al. / Loneliness and International Students 149

any mans death diminishes me,

because I am involved in Mankinde;

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;

It tolls for thee.

–John Donne, from Meditation XVII, Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions

(Donne, original English)

INTRODUCTION

Australia educates 9% of the world’s cross-border tertiary students. In 2004,

there were 228,555 international students enrolled in Australian higher education

institutions, three quarters of them onshore in the southern continent. International

students constituted 24.2% of all enrolled students and provided 15% of university

revenues (Department of Employment, Science and Training, 2005; Organization

for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD], 2005). These students are

not simply enrollment units administered by universities, nor merely customers of a

large-scale services export industry, nor members of a classroom; they are also

human beings. And they are human beings whose global mobility is associated with

distinctive opportunities and distinctive problems.

In crossing national borders for their education, these students leave their family

and social networks and citizenship rights in the country of origin. As Grinberg and

Grinberg (1989, p. 23) put it, in migration “one ceases to belong to the world one left

behind, and does not yet belong to the world in which one has nearly arrived.” Newly

arrived international students suddenly find themselves in “relational deficit,” if not

social isolation, at a time when they need more than the usual support. They face a

foreign language, study in a new setting, finances, accommodation, and day-to-day

living problems, and they must negotiate an unfamiliar set of institutional rules. They

often face issues of personal autonomy (Baker & Siryk, 1986) and the recreation of

identity in the new setting. Often, the physical and cultural environment is very dif-

ferent, with new social customs and norms. International students must establish

themselves as foreigners staying for a time, as neither inside nor outside. They must

deal with unpredictable encounters, idiosyncratic communications, and problems of

racial discrimination, largely on their own (Church, 1982). As this study will illus-

trate, personal loneliness, both routine and profound, is often endemic to the interna-

tional student experience.

The main part of the literature on cross-border students is focused on their aca-

demic experiences and achievements. A lesser body of research attends to the cir-

cumstances of their lives, circumstances that are affected by a number of different

agents—governments, educational institutions, civil organizations, family, networks

of friends, and the students themselves. Yet these life circumstances are important

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150 Journal of Studies in International Education Summer 2008

not only because of the potential to shape the possibilities and limits of academic

learning but also because the day-to-day experiences of international students are

passed along to their family and friends and so enter the formation of country and

institutional reputations within the industry, with the potential to influence market

choices (OECD, 2004). At the same time, and equally important, the human rights

of these cross-border students are being shaped. There is much at stake in interna-

tional student security and student loneliness.

The Study

The research underlying this article was funded by the Monash Institute for the

Study of Global Movements at Monash University, Australia.1The first author

(Sawir) interviewed 200 international students from more than 30 different nations,

at nine Australian institutions: the Universities of Melbourne, Ballarat, Sydney, New

South Wales, Deakin, Victoria, and Swinburne, the Royal Melbourne Institute of

Technology, and Central Queensland University. The interviews were conducted on

a one-to-one basis in quiet locations for typically 30 to 50 min.

The interviews covered a range of areas touching on the social and economic

security of international students—from finances, accommodation, and work to

languages, networks, and family; to relations with authority; and to intercultural

experiences and personal safety. Summative data from the study were released in

April 2005 (Deumert, Marginson, Nyland, Ramia, & Sawir, 2005a, 2005b).2This

is the first article focused on a discrete area of inquiry, loneliness, and isolation.

Other articles are being prepared on student work, student finances, language use,

cross-cultural relations, including experiences of racism and discrimination, and

dealing with government and university authorities.

The universities aforementioned cooperated in the selection and self-selection of

student interviewees and provided facilities (normally a room centrally located on

the main campus site) in which the interviews took place. Each vice-chancellor

granted permission for the conduct of the research on the grounds that the intervie-

wees would together constitute a single pool of data that would not be disaggregated

by institution or otherwise used for the purposes of comparing the performance of,

and/or services of, each university to those of the others. In a highly sensitive mar-

ket, in which comparative judgments have commercial implications, we would not

have been able to gain access to student interviewees within the boundaries of the

normal requirement for permission to research, unless we had given this condition.

Consequently, the researchers did not study closely the particular mix of services

provided by each institution or seek to relate the comments made in interviewees

with the particular circumstances of the universities in question. No doubt this has

led to some underidentification of the universities’ services, including particular

problems and weakness in those services.

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Sawir et al. / Loneliness and International Students 151

Typically, universities provide support for international students that is intended to

facilitate an optimal (from the point of view of the universities) academic and social

adjustment. Before the commencement of their studies, international students in

Australia normally attend an orientation program designed to familiarize them with

the various support services and activities, including social and cultural activities, pro-

vided within the institution.3In reporting the results of what is a critical study, it is per-

haps necessary4that we place on record our awareness that much of the assistance

provided by Australian universities, in relation to both the educational program and

their life circumstances, has the potential to modify the incidence of and the experi-

ences of loneliness: For example, the provision of new arrival services and personal

counseling, the structuring of social activities, and the support for student clubs and

other networks. There is no doubt that in many individual cases, this assistance

relieves or reduces experiences of loneliness and/or isolation, and we expect that with-

out such assistance the incidence of loneliness as reported here would be higher, and

many individual experiences more prolonged and deeply felt.

Overall finding concerning loneliness. All 200 student interviewees in the

study were asked the same questions about problems of loneliness and isolation, as

follows:

Q. Have you experienced periods of loneliness or isolation?

[If the answer is “yes”] Who do you turn to?

A total of 130 students (65%) answered “Yes” to the first question, 67% of women

and 62% of men. Many expanded on their answers. Some who answered “no” also

provided further data. Other questions in the study covered related areas including

friendships, networks, and cross-cultural relations.

The article begins by discussing theorizations of loneliness and then discusses

interviewees’ answers to the questions about loneliness and isolation. The final sec-

tion discusses the implications for universities and policy makers and for research.

THEORIZATIONS OF LONELINESS

Loneliness is experienced by all human beings at some time in life. It is more

likely to occur under circumstances such as prolonged absence from home or the loss

of a significant other. Feelings of loneliness are like feelings of joy, hunger, and sor-

row; they can be managed though never completely prevented (Rokach & Brock,

1998). Like all human experiences, it is never finally known to social science, but

loneliness is open to observation, analysis, and reflexive strategies. The literature on

loneliness is mostly in psychology and sociology. Psychological studies highlight

personality as a predisposing factor. Sociological studies often suggest that loneliness

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152 Journal of Studies in International Education Summer 2008

stem from deficits in social networks. A middle group of studies crosses both disci-

plinary terrains and takes in both types of explanation.

The Need to Belong

“No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe” (Donne). In psychology, the need to

belong is defined as the need to maintain a minimum quantity and quality of inter-

personal relationships. Conversely, Weiss (1973) conceives loneliness as an absence

of necessary relationships. Following Weiss, De Jong-Gierveld (1987) states that

the lonely person faces an unpleasant or inadmissible lack of required social rela-

tionships (also Russell, Cutrona, Rose, & Yurko, 1984, p. 1313). If the need to belong

is not satisfied, negative feelings are generated, including loneliness (Baumeister &

Leary, 1995).

Weiss (1973) distinguishes emotional (i.e., personal) loneliness and social lone-

liness. Loneliness results from the absence of either intimate personal ties or social

ties and social integration of a less intimate kind. The distinction between personal

loneliness and social loneliness is useful but is not without ambiguities. For exam-

ple, boyfriend/girlfriend sits on the border between the categories, and certain social

or institutional relationships, such as pastoral care in education, can function as

quasi-parental relationships.

Emotional (personal) loneliness. According to Weiss (1973), emotional loneli-

ness results from the loss of or the lack of a truly intimate tie such as that with a

spouse, lover, parent, or child. It is characterized by anxiety and apprehension.

Emotional loneliness can be remedied by the installment of a satisfactory “attach-

ment relationship.”

Social loneliness and social networks. Social loneliness is a lack of an engaging

social network with peers who share or partly share one’s concerns or view of the

world. Weiss (1973) noted that among other symptoms, social loneliness is char-

acterized by boredom and a sense of exclusion. Osterman (2001, p. 327) remarks

that “being accepted, included or welcomed leads to positive emotions such as hap-

piness, elation, commitment and calm.” On the other hand, “being rejected,

excluded or ignored leads to often intense negative feelings of anxiety, depression,

grief, jealousy and loneliness.” The remedy is integration into an existing or newly

formed social network. Weiss states the following:

Social networks provide a base for social activities, for outings and parties and get-

togethers with people with whom one has much in common; they provide a pool of

others among whom one can find companions for an evening’s conversation or for

some portion of the daily round. Social isolation removes these gratifications; it very

directly impoverishes life. (Weiss, 1973, p. 150)

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Stokes (1985) explores statistically the relationship between social network vari-

ables and loneliness among undergraduate students. The social network variables

include network size; network density—that is, the proportion of possible network

members with whom the student has a connection; the proportions who are confi-

dents and are relatives; and the frequency with which the student receives support-

ive actions. The variable that correlates most significantly with loneliness is density.

Denser networks enhance the sense of belonging and reduce loneliness.

Green, Richardson, and Schatten-Jones (2001) examine factors affecting both per-

sonal and social loneliness using a slightly different set of network variables: size of

network, closeness of members of the network, presence of partner and close (intimate)

others, and network density. They find social loneliness is related to both the closeness

of people in the social network and the number of persons, that is, quality and quantity.

DiTommaso and Spinner (1997) find that integration into a social network is the best

predictor of lower levels of social loneliness. What is crucial is close friends capable of

providing meaningful personal advice rather than casual acquaintances.

Causes of Loneliness

Numerous studies have tackled the causes of loneliness (Lunt, 1991; Peplau &

Perlman, 1982; Rokach, 1988, 1989; Stuewe-Portnoff, 1988). One set of explana-

tions lies in external circumstances, in the fracturing of social networks and personal

relationships. Rokach (1988) refers to “traumatic events” such as the loss of signif-

icant and intimate relationships through death of a spouse, divorce or breakup, or

loss of a friend. Another cause is relocation, which may involve separation not just

from intimate relationships but from most of a person’s social networks and support

systems, resulting in “relational deficits” (Rokach, 1989).

Another set of explanations focuses on personality traits seen to exacerbate the

potential for loneliness. Individuals may be inhibited from creating personal and

social bonds by lack of social skills or communications capacity, physical disability,

feelings of being unimportant, or fear of rejection. People very prone to loneliness

are often shy, introverted, less willing to take social risks, and more anxious,

depressed, and neurotic (Hojat, 1982; Peplau & Perlman, 1982, p. 9; Solano &

Koester, 1989; Stokes, 1985). Language competence is one key factor, and much

research links severe loneliness and low self-esteem (Hojat, 1982; Peplau & Perlman,

1982). According to Nurmi, Toivonen, Salmera-Aro, and Eronen (1997), people with

high self-esteem are more popular than those with low self-esteem, assisting them to

create meaningful relationships. Typically, extroverts are surrounded by large net-

works to which they feel close (Stokes, 1985). Paradoxically, those who appear more

self-sufficient and less in need of others find it easier to attract others and to maintain

successful relationships with them.

Peplau and Perlman (1982) noted that personal characteristics can contribute to

loneliness by reducing the desire for relationships, by triggering behaviors that

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result in unsatisfactory social interactions, and by leading the person to change his

or her social relations. The experience of loneliness can trigger a withdrawal from

social relations in an effort to contain the pain, reinforcing social isolation.

Loneliness and Individual Differences

In contrast, with much of the literature, we suggest that not every lonely person

has the “same” loneliness. The perception of loneliness, and the way people cope

with it, vary among individuals and between cultural groups: not only by personality

but also because of differing practices in relationships. Between two people in much

the same circumstances, the incidence and intensity of loneliness can vary. In fact,

one may feel lonely and the other not. This potential for variation takes on special

importance in considering international students who come from many different

nationalities, cultural and religious backgrounds, ages, and life circumstances.

Age and loneliness. According to Green et al. (2001), the negative correlation

between loneliness and closeness to members of the network is more significant for

older adults. The negative correlation with the number of contacts is more important

for college students. Similarly, Stokes (1985) finds that the loneliness of college stu-

dents can be addressed simply by increasing the size of their networks. We note that

this finding may be culturally specific; for example, young people in some cultures

may have greater need for close personal relationships than those from other cultures.

Gender and loneliness. There are contradictory findings regarding gender and

loneliness. Weiss (1973) states that women are more apt to be lonely than men.

Women are said to have lower self-esteem (Hojat, 1982), which given the association

between loneliness and low self-esteem means they are more prone to loneliness. But

Russell, Peplau, and Cutrona (1980) find no gender differences in relation to loneli-

ness, and Borys and Perlman (1985) argue that reported gender differences in lone-

liness result from men’s greater reluctance to disclose (and perhaps to acknowledge

to themselves) socially undesirable feelings. Some also argue that women place a

higher importance than men on relationships and are more strongly affected by defi-

ciencies in them. Others findings are different again. Deniz (2005) concludes that

loneliness levels are higher among male than female students, also confirmed by Ari

and Hamarta (2000), because female students have better attachment “skills,” espe-

cially in forming and maintaining close dyadic social ties (Nurmi et al., 1997). Such

gender differences might be themselves be subject to cultural differences.

Cultural factors and loneliness. Some sociological studies note that loneliness

can be exacerbated by cultural values and norms relating to coupling and other

aspects of relationships (Rokach, 1989). But there is a paucity of studies of cultural

and cross-cultural aspects in relation to loneliness. Most studies focus on loneliness

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in just one culture (Misra, 1999). This article makes a distinctive contribution in

this area.

In the absence of multicultural studies, we depend on the larger field of research

on cultural differences. Among Hofstede’s (1998) five dimensions of variation in

national cultures5is individualism/collectivism. Individualism versus collectivism

refers to variations in the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. In

collectivist cultures, the “basic survival unit” is the group (Hui, 1988), often con-

stituted by an extended family including uncles, aunts, and grandparents, offering

protection in exchange for unquestioning loyalty (Hofstede, 1998). Group mem-

bers place a high value on close and supportive networks (Gudykunst, Nishida, &

Schmidt, 1989) and actively share the lives of others in the group. Mutual support

is important, particularly during unpleasant events (Triandis, Bontempo, Villareal,

Asai, & Lucca, 1988). Friendships in collectivist society are nonspecific and pre-

determined by stable social relationships (Hui, 1988). Triandis (1989) notes that

desires to remain with parents and extended family are stronger in collectivist than

individualist cultures. Correspondingly, collectivists will tend to suffer more

deeply the absence of such relationships.

People from individualist cultures exhibit fewer skills of close interaction and

are more emotionally detached, believing they can stand on their own (Hui, 1988).

The more individualistic a culture is, the more likely it is that a person blames them-

selves for their loneliness. Furthermore, social support network are likely to be weaker

than in collectivist cultures...the degree of individualism mediates how satisfied one

is with the situation, which in turn will influence how one responds and copes with it.

(Misra, 1999, Individualism and Loneliness, para. 2)

Coping With Loneliness

The strategies and resources people use in coping with loneliness, which vary

among individuals and among cultural groups, are the object of much research

(Cutrona, 1982; Paloutzian & Ellison, 1982; Rokach, 1990; Rokach & Brock, 1998;

Rubenstein & Shaver, 1982). We can identify three overlapping kinds of coping strate-

gies: (a) strategies in which the lonely student works directly on himself or herself to

self-manage loneliness; (b) strategies designed to augment social relationships or the

capacity to engage in them; (c) strategies of seeking help, often of a professional or

institutional kind, which can lead to either objective.

Andre (1991) refers to reflexive strategies of managing being alone as “positive

solitude.” Rokach and Brock (1998, p. 112) talk about promoting “individuality,

creativity, and self-awareness by allowing the opportunity for contemplation, self-

exploration, and insight.” These moves can enhance self-esteem and help in coping

with the pain of loneliness. On the other hand, some distance themselves further,

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retreating into a closed inner self; this is sometimes associated with pathological

behavioral toward self or others. More proactive strategies are to enter activities

that provide adventure or other challenges or to pamper oneself via consumption.

Another strategy is connecting to religion and faith, gaining strength and inner

peace (Rokach & Brock, 1998). Kirkpatrick and Shaver (1992) find that among par-

ticipants who believed in God, those describing their relationship with God as a secure

attachment are less lonely and depressed than those for whom it is insecure.

Pergament (1990) suggests that God can be viewed as another member of the social

network who, like other network members, can help in coping. Religious life also pro-

vides community and a sense of belongingness. Religion is one of a number of ways

of promoting and augmenting social networks. The classic advice to lonely students

is to search out a collaborative activity such as sport, or activity or service-oriented

clubs and other associations of peers.

International Students and Loneliness

What does the research tell us about the loneliness of international students? Like

other temporary or permanent migrants, international students experience both per-

sonal and social loneliness. Many report a profound sense of loss and isolation, as

well as anxiety, confusion, and disappointed expectations (Brislin & Yoshida, 1994).

Early feelings of loneliness are intense even for students in regular contact with peo-

ple from their own city or culture. In most cases, this intensity diminishes in time, as

students’ expectations and patterns of life change and as they learn to cope to extend

their social circles and make new kinds of friends. If this transformation does not

occur, the intense loneliness becomes emotionally entrenched as social alienation

(Moroi, 1986). This can become “extremely debilitating and related to a loss of moti-

vation,” resulting in academic attrition (Brennan, 1982, p. 271). Demir and Tarhan

(2001, p. 113) find, in relation to adolescent students in Turkey, as the level of lone-

liness increased, academic achievement decreased. This finding is consistent with

those of Brennan (1982) and Dobson, Campbell, and Dobson (1987). On the other

hand, students with strong support networks exhibit better psychological and physi-

ological well-being, particularly during periods of high stress (Sarason, Sarason, &

Gurung, 1997). Good networks help students to feel supported and more in control.

The literature also reveals patterns in the type of support used by students when

coping with emotional, social, and educational problems. When seeking help with

emotional–social problems, students opt for parents, older friends, or other students;

when seeking help with educational–vocational problems, they opt for faculty advis-

ers, parents, or older friends (Leong & Sedlacek, 1986). Baloglu (2000) noted that

friends are the most preferred source of help for international students, followed by

parents and teachers; friendship networks provide the most important support sys-

tems. Studies find that student counseling services are underutilized (Baloglu, 2000;

Jacob, 2001; Mori, 2000; Schweitzer, 1996; Snider, 2001) because of insufficient

156 Journal of Studies in International Education Summer 2008

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funding to support a counseling service adequate to international students’ needs, or

unawareness of its existence, or concerns about trustfulness, problems of shame and

loss of face, and other cultural issues.

Cultural factors affect international student loneliness in two distinct ways. First,

many students find themselves missing their own cultural and linguistic setting, often

intensely. This is an extreme version of social loneliness as defined by Weiss (1973): loss

of contact with those who share one’s concerns or view of the world. Second, many find

themselves in cross-cultural relationships but at a lower level of empathy than same-

culture relationships. Research in the English-language countries finds that many inter-

national students are disappointed by the underdevelopment of relationships with local

students (e.g., in the United States: Lee, Maldonado-Maldonado, & Rhoades, 2006).

Mobility also creates new possibilities. Lonely international students can also

have advantages. Many, though not all, are free of career and child-rearing responsi-

bilities. The student world is open, fluid, flexible, and cosmopolitan; its freedoms are

alarming and attractive. Losing networks provides opportunities (as well as pres-

sures) to enter new associations. Through their studies, and often their residence, they

are in regular seeing distance of many other students and have broad opportunities

for extracurricular activity and the “installing” of attachment relationships. If net-

work density is a key factor in reducing loneliness, then students can quickly multi-

ply their friendships. Against this, new relationships take time and effort, and in the

early months, most international students are hard-pressed just to manage their

course load and cope with basic communications. Many also work to cover the costs

of study and living (Deumert et al., 2005a). Furthermore, simply expanding the den-

sity of networks may not be enough for those students whose deeper requirement is

not for quantity but for quality of association, through intimacy and/or cultural fit in

relationships. Intercultural and linguistic differences can be steep barriers to climb.

Institutional sites of loneliness. Weiss’ (1973) distinction between emotional (per-

sonal) and social loneliness originates in two kinds of human relationship: in fami-

lies and in social networks. These are not the only social sites in which people feel

lonely. This study finds that international students are also affected by institutional

relationships, including the exchange in classrooms, student–teacher relations, rela-

tions with university administrations, relations with government and other authori-

ties. In institutional relationships, a sense of social and cultural embeddedness, of

individual “fit” with the setting, is important. Some international students have a

heightened sense of loneliness in institutional settings, especially when they are in

difficulty, exacerbating personal or social loneliness. It can be worst for students who

look to administrative or pedagogical relationships to fill the gaps in their personal or

social relationships.

The article will now consider the findings from the 200 student interviews.

Sawir et al. / Loneliness and International Students 157

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158 Journal of Studies in International Education Summer 2008

Q. HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED A PERIOD

OF LONELINESS OR ISOLATION?

As noted in the Introduction, of the 200 students interviewed, 130 (65%) stated

that yes, they had experienced loneliness or isolation in Australia. Whether due to a

higher propensity to loneliness or to report it, the proportion among women students

(67%) was slightly higher than among men (62%), as Table 1 shows.

Of the larger national student groupings, those with aforementioned average

rates of loneliness were Malaysia (72%), Singapore (100%), and the small group

from Other Africa (86%). We might expect that the highest incidence of loneliness

would be among students from small national populations in Australia, but the

Table 1 Self-Reported Problems With “Loneliness,” by National Origin

and Gender

Women Men People

Total With Total With Total With

Women Problems Men Problems People Problems

Nation %% %

Southeast

Asia/Pacific

Indonesia 22 12 54 27 18 67 49 30 61

Malaysia 13 11 855240181372

Singapore 7 7 100 4 4 100 11 11 100

Laos, Cambodia,

and Vietnam 3 1 333267 6 350

Other SE Asia

and Pacifica548011100 6 583

Northeast Asia

China 22 13 596467281761

Hong Kong 5 3 60 0 005360

Other East Asiab331006467 9 778

South Asia

India 4 2 50 17 10 59 21 12 57

Other South Asia 5 3 60 14 7 50 19 10 53

Others

Middle East/

North Africa 2 2 1005360 7 571

Other Africa 3 3 1004375 7 686

Europe 221004125 6 350

Canada/U.S./U.K. 3 0 0 2 2 100 5 2 40

Latin America 2 2 100 1 1 100 3 3 100

Total 101 68 67 99 62 62 200 130 65

a. Brunei, Thailand, and Papua New Guinea.

b. Korea, Japan,Taiwan, and Macau.

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cases of students from Malaysia and Singapore conflict with this assumption. Data

from the present study do not allow us to take further the potential differences

between nations, in both the incidence of loneliness and the coping strategies used

by students and other agencies to overcome loneliness and isolation. This is an

interesting topic and worthy of further research (see Further Research).

As Table 1 shows, most students were from Asian nations, traditionally associated

with collectivist cultures. This does not mean that every person from those nations

shared the same outlook; some traces of “individualist” values were evident in inter-

views. However, the collectivist aspect does affect the responses and is referred to

several times in the data that follow.

Students’networks. Other data from the 200 interviews allow us to summarize stu-

dents’ relationships and networks, comparing those who reported feelings of loneli-

ness and isolation with those who did not. We might intuit that those reporting

loneliness would be more likely to lack social networks. It is interesting to find that,

as Table 2 shows, on the whole, those who reported loneliness or isolation had a

higher incidence of networked relationships than those who did not. More of those

reporting loneliness (60%) than those who did not report loneliness (51%) had close

friends in Australia. More of those reporting loneliness had casual friendships with

other international students (100%, compared with 76% among those not reporting

loneliness) and casual friendships with local students (60%/51%) and also reported

involvement in social organizations (56%/34%). The one exception to these patterns

was that those reporting loneliness were less likely to have family or relatives close

by, 28% as compared to 35%. In a sample of 200 students, these patterns are not con-

clusive, but they do suggest that there is not a simple correlation between loneliness

and isolation. Networks do not necessarily eliminate loneliness. The absence of net-

works does not necessarily lead to loneliness. The majority enjoy networks, but the

majority experience loneliness. Networks are desirable, but they are not a universal

panacea for loneliness.

Perhaps one reason for these patterns is that the group of those who say that they

are not lonely includes both those enjoying an active life among friends and associ-

ates and those who have come to terms with a degree of isolation or actually prefer

it (see below). Second, it is not just the quantity of networked relationships that is

important but the quality, including their cultural content. An international student

might enjoy a broad pattern of networked relationships while still missing her or his

familiar cultural setting and still face barriers and difficulties, such as communica-

tion problems. It is significant that 65% of those who had experienced loneliness or

isolation had faced barriers in making friends across cultures, compared to 36% of

the nonlonely. This might be one of the keys to unlocking the problem of loneliness

and isolation, especially in the early months.

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160 Journal of Studies in International Education Summer 2008

The “Yes” Response (Those Experiencing Loneliness/Isolation)

First experiences: “We are in the very strange place.” In the early months, when

the separation from family is raw and social networks in Australia are embryonic

or nonexistent, many students have the sense of being “lost in a jungle”: a profound

unfamiliarity extending from culture, language, and people to urban looks and

smells, and strange administrative systems. Everything is new. Students are con-

stantly uncertain about what to do and the resources able to help.

Yes definitely.... I didn’t know that ISS (International Student Service) actually han-

dles these matters. If I knew, I would have talked to people. The first three months

were really hard. I’d walk around and say, awww...God, I feel so lonely. I can’t

hang around...I want to go home. I would usually call my friends or my parents

back home. I spent a lot of money calling my friends. (male, 28, biochemistry,

Indonesia)

Oh yes, even though I came with my family, the first year here was terrible. It took

me very long to adapt. Maybe it’s a new environment plus new faces, everything new.

(female, 32, commerce, Singapore)

To compound the personal deficit and social deficit, many students experience

a “culture deficit.” Some feel that their identities are continually being bombarded.

Yes. The first time I came here my family was still in Indonesia. We were still strug-

gling to find house, nobody to help us. I feel at the time, apart from the family, we are

in a very strange place, different culture; it was difficult to find help. All things make

you very, very, strange at the time. (male, 31, community development, Indonesia)

Table 2 Composition of Students’ Networks in Australia

Lonely, N = 130 Not Lonely, N = 70

Networks and Associations Include Number % Number %

Immediate family/relatives 37 28 25 35

Close friends including boyfriends/girlfriends 79 60 36 51

Casual friends: other international students 131 100 54 76

Casual friends: local students 79 60 36 51

Social organizations 74 56 24 34

Q. Are there significant barriers in making

friends across cultures?

Ye s 8 5 6 5 2 5 3 6

No 45 34 45 63

Note: Some students mentioned more than one association, so the total does not sum to 100%.

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Sawir et al. / Loneliness and International Students 161

The initial loneliness is deepened when students face settlement problems, such

as prolonged difficulties in finding private rental accommodation, or have early bad

experiences, such as this student who was robbed:

When I came here just three weeks I met a very big problem. At the time I lived with

my home stay and her house was broken by someone. I lost my laptop, cash, and

mobile. At that time I was very distressed....I lost my passport, and I had to go to

the Chinese Embassy to apply for a new one....I had to do many things by myself.

At the time I feel very lonely. I wanted to go back home as soon as possible. I didn’t

want to live in Australia anymore. (female, 23, international business, China)

Causes of Loneliness

The students were not specifically asked to identify the causes of their loneli-

ness, but the majority of them provided sufficient data in their replies to allow the

researchers to identify causes. Among the students who specified causes, the main

causes were the absence of intimate persons and lack of cultural fit. A smaller num-

ber referred to difficulties in securing social networks (Table 3).

Personal loneliness: “Dad I wanna go home.” “The child–parent bond is the

strongest human bond in a collectivist culture” (Triandis, 1989, p. 75). The loss of

Table 3 Triggers of Loneliness, Interviews With 200 International Students,

Australia 2003-2004

Total students interviewed = 200

Number of students answering “yes” to the question “Have you experienced a period of

loneliness or isolation in Australia?” = 130 (65%)

Number of Lonely Students % of the

Triggers of Loneliness Who Mentioned Students

Nominated by Interviewees This Trigger Interviewed

[No trigger(s) of loneliness specified]a62 47

Personal (emotional) loneliness 46 35

Shock of the new culture 30 23

Obstacles to social networking 6 5

Difficulties in handling problemsb65

Personal characteristics of interviewee 3 2

Total students answering “yes” 130 100

Note: Some students mentioned more than one cause of loneliness, so percentages do not sum to 100.

a.The students were not specifically asked to identify the triggers of loneliness, but a majority of them

provided sufficient data to allow the researchers to identify causes.No doubt, of the 47% that did not

specify a trigger, many of them would have specified a trigger or triggers if they had been asked.

b.All but one of the specified problems were academic in nature.

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close family (parents, spouses, children, and siblings), relatives, and friends affects

students to varying degrees. Some find it very painful:

Yes, yes, oh, especially right at the beginning when I first got here. I didn’t have any-

one to talk to, that was the thing. It was really hard because I couldn’t have contact

with anybody. Initially I came all by myself....Exactly who to approach, who to talk

to, I had no clue. So I used to be on the phone everyday with my Dad, “I wanna go

home.” It’s like every single day, I’ll call my Dad and cry and cry on the phone...at

the beginning, no, I didn’t know or didn’t have someone to go to, so there was a lot

of loneliness and things like that. (female, 28, business, Zimbabwe)

The experience is more daunting for students who had left the “nest” for the first

time. Students also miss their families more than usual when they fall ill and also

at special family times such as Christmas.

When I first came here it’s very lonely because it’s my first experience of going into

abroad and staying alone...and you know I got a small baby just 10 months old.

This is very hard for me. (male, 35, law, Indonesia)

Social loneliness and networking: “She doesn’t always understand.” Many inter-

viewees wanted to connect to people like themselves but found obstacles to social

networking, such as incompatibilities of age or nationality and problems of language

and communication. Others mentioned financial constraints to socializing and diffi-

culties in breaking into other people’s busy lives.

Not isolation, it’s just lonely. Even though my sister has come, I still feel that. When

I talk to her she doesn’t always understand what I’m talking about because she’s too

young. Although she’s around 18, we still have a generation gap. (female, 21, design,

Hong Kong)

In fact it’s hard because you come from different countries. If you have a lot of friends,

so much less you have loneliness in this country. (male, 31, computing, China)

Personal characteristics: “I always feel like that.” A few students ascribed their

loneliness to their personal psychology. (Perhaps the fact that only a few linked their

loneliness to their personal attributes is a sign that most interviewees were from col-

lectivist cultures.) Some turned their “relational deficit” into “positive solitude.”

They liked being alone, or at least they accepted it. For others, their misery was

compounded by a sense of personal inadequacy.

Yah, sometimes, maybe just because of my character. I always feel like that back

home. It doesn’t make any difference. (female, 24, international business, Indonesia)

Loneliness in institutional settings: “If I knew that I would be so isolated, maybe

I would not have come.” After initial settlement, several students mentioned feelings

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Sawir et al. / Loneliness and International Students 163

of loneliness arising in their academic work and institutional relationships, some-

times triggered by those relationships. This was difficult when the students

expected those relationships to be socially supportive and found that they were not

and for those lacking personal and social backup when faced by educational or

administrative difficulties.

When I moved to [name of university]. I was quite unhappy about my course. I was

depressed. A lot of things had been building and I was getting really depressed and

lonely and I felt like I was just alone and fighting this whole battle. (male, 26, busi-

ness, Botswana)

Yes. . . . Sometimes in the school I feel lonely. Most people are Australians, and all

are busy. They can’t find time just say how are you or something like that. (male, 31,

biology, Egypt)

One student assumed the PhD program would involve an active research culture.

But it did not happen.

If I knew that I would be so isolated doing my PhD here, maybe I would not have come

here. I chose to come to another country because I thought I would have more chance to

attend conferences, express my ideas, take part in discussion groups. But when I came

here I realized that I make a mistake. (female, 31, community development, Indonesia)

Without classes, PhD students lack the surrogate social network and the oppor-

tunities for genuine friendship that these provide. A degree of loneliness is inher-

ent and can only be overcome if the university provides structured groupings.

Loneliness in my research . . . it’s a different type of loneliness, let’s say topic-related

loneliness. I can’t talk to anybody, not even to my supervisor, because it’s a field no one

really has worked in. I guess you don’t go out and say look I am lonely can I talk to you,

rather you search for company and then you talk. (male, 40, education, Germany)

Others have negative experiences in dealing with authorities and no one to share

these with.

Yes....Not often at university, but within university life, especially when I have to

deal with immigration. Because there is no one to ask (for help). The International

Students office or School of Graduate Studies always refers you back to the

Immigration office, and when you have to deal with Immigration Office yourself, you

feel like you are just a piece of paper. (female, 29, architecture, Indonesia)

Q. Who Do You Turn to in the Face of Loneliness?

Most students (88%) who felt lonely or isolated turned to personal or social net-

works. A smaller group (10%) became immersed in activities, and 15% drew on

personal resources. Some had more than one strategy (Table 4). The categories of

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164 Journal of Studies in International Education Summer 2008

support cited most often were friends in Australia (54% of the 130 lonely students

mentioned this) and family and relatives back home (34%). For many of these tem-

porary migrants, the link back to home remains very significant. Many international

students in effect live in two different places. Institutional relationships, much less

important in coping with loneliness (8%), divided evenly between academic staff

and staff in student services.

Sources of Support

Personal support: “You just call home.” Those who did not have the comfort of

parents, partners, siblings, or other relatives in Australia often called home, though

this was cheaper for some than others.

Table 4 Copying Strategies of Lonely International Students

Total students ==200

Number of students answering “yes” to the question “Have you experienced a period of

loneliness or isolation in Australia?” ==130 (65%)

Responses to the follow-up question “Who did you turn to?”

Total %

I turn to relationships in Australia

Family and relatives Spouse, siblings, other relatives 13 10

Boyfriend/girlfriend 2 2

Subtotal 15 11

Friends Subtotal 71 54

University staff Supervisor/lecturer 5 4

International office 2 2

University counseling 4 3

Subtotal 11 8

Landlord Subtotal 1 1

Total 98 75

I turn to relationships in my

home country

Family and relatives Subtotal 45 34

Friends Subtotal 12 9

Total 57 44

I use other coping strategies

Engage in an activity 13 10

Keep solitary 20 15

Grand total all responses 130 100

Note: Some students used more than one strategy, so the total does not sum to 100%. Note that there

is some ambiguity between the categories “personal relationships” and “social networks.” For example,

close boyfriends/girlfriends can fall into either category.

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Sawir et al. / Loneliness and International Students 165

Everybody’s busy with their own life so you feel very, very lonely. You just call home.

(male, 24, computing, India)

I mean there are some things that I would confide to friends here, but . . . I often call

home, not only to my parents but often to close friends from home. It is cheap to call

back to the US. (male, 24, international business, US)

It was noticeable that the interviewees were much more likely to refer to tele-

phone communication (especially in relation to contact with parents) than the use of

other communications technologies. There were some references to e-mail but none

to more advanced technologies such as Voice over IP, chat programs with video con-

nections, and so on. There were also few references to accessing home radio and TV

through satellite or the Internet. Here an inhibiting factor was the relatively weak

penetration of information and communication technologies in many of the Asian

nations that provide international students in Australia (Table 5).

Some students found that although calling home in itself was easy to do, secur-

ing an emotional consensus and a shared approach to the loneliness problem was

more difficult.

I don’t want them to worry so much about me. I just stay in my room . . . sometimes

I cry (out) and when I cry out, I feel better. (male, 21, business, Malaysia)

I never spoke to anyone. I never even told my parents about it, because they’ll be

extremely worried now that I am staying so far away. (female, 25, media and com-

munication, India)

Social networks: “I felt better speaking the same language.” Many students

found that speaking their own language made them feel better.

Table 5 Penetration of Information and Communication Technologies in

Selected Asian Nations

All Phone Subscribers Internet Use Broadband Penetration

Per 1,000 Population Per 1,000 Population Per 1,000 Population

China 499 73 17

Indonesia 184 52 0.3

Philippines 446 58 0.3

Vietnam 131 71 n.a.

Thailand 537 112 0.2

Korea 1,303 656 248

Malaysia 766 392 10

Singapore 1,350 559 118

Source:World Bank (2006).

n.a. = Data not available from source.

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I talked to other Indonesian community (members) here, some friends. I felt better

speaking the same language. (male, 41, literacy, Indonesia)

But often the capacity of friends to provide social support is not unlimited.

I used to talk to a friend of mine, I’m pretty close to her, but maybe she’s not a good

listener. Then she wouldn’t answer my phone call. (female, 26, computing, Russia)

Yes, yes. I was with my boyfriend at that time, but he couldn’t help. I guess we both

had the same problem and we kind of lost the ability to help each other. But you don’t

find him as someone you can talk to and help you. . . .I guess other people very prob-

ably (could) be a support but he just couldn’t. He showed very clearly his selfishness

in this very difficult situation. (female, 25, public health, China)

University services: “I’ve been happy ever since.” One reason why few students

drew on the support of university staff was that not all knew the services that were

available, especially early in their stay.

We didn’t have someone to talk to at that time. We didn’t have any idea how the ser-

vice work at the unit. (male, 31, community development, Indonesia)

For some, university services are an auxiliary to other supports. For others, they

are the factor that makes the difference.

I don’t mind seeing the counseling people if I have a problem. At that time I didn’t

really have some one who was really close to me, and I don’t like talking about my

personal problems. So I went to the counseling service. (female, 27, engineering,

Indonesia)

Being the first child in my family, I was never one to talk about my problems and a

lot of things had been building. I was getting really depressed and lonely, and I felt

like I was just alone and fighting this whole battle. So I talked to this friend of mine,

and then after that, I went to the counseling service and I talked to them. And then I

thought, I need a change. So I changed my course, and I changed towns and I’ve been

happy ever since. (male, 26, business, Botswana)

Positive solitude: “I can manage this.” A number of students just coped on their

own. Going into crowded places could help them forget their loneliness or they

found it natural to keep things inside. Gender also affected it. Some male students

saw coping in solitude as intrinsic to being a man, but no women saw it as essen-

tially female.

I think I’m older, I can manage this. (male, 25, computing, China)

Because I am a man, I usually keep (my loneliness) to myself. If it gets bad, I usually

talk with my friends, my close friends. (male, 28, business, Indonesia)

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All the time. A lot of times, but . . . largely I’m an insecure person anyway. I think most

females are, and I think everyone can say they’ve experienced periods of loneliness.

(female, 26, medicine, Malaysia)

For one student, religious activity strengthened his sense of himself.

I talked to my family, I called them. Or read Qur’an. (male, 37, accounting, Egypt)

The “No” Response (Not Experiencing

Loneliness/Isolation)

A number of the students who said that they had never experienced loneliness

or isolation went on to explain their answer.

Starting off well: “I was so eager to explore the new world.” Of the students who

do not experience loneliness, many start very well. They are used to traveling, or

being alone, or they are excited by the new personal freedoms. Typically, for these

students in the study, cultural tensions were minimized or the cultural difference

emerged as positive:

No. Because when I first came here, I was so eager to explore the new world, yeah.

(male, 22, food science, Vietnam)

No loneliness, never. I love it here. I’m comfortable. You see the thing is, I fit in over

here. I don’t fit in, in India. I’m a feminist, ok, I’m a strong minded woman and in the

India subcontinent, it is very difficult. Here I have the freedom to lead my own life

and I am not expected to come home and . . . I don’t have all the social pressures to

deal with. I have my life. (female, 19, arts, India)

No personal loneliness: “I have family here.” Someavoid loneliness because

they have family with them.

No. I came here with my siblings and settled in and made friends in the language

school. (male, 21, engineering, Indonesia)

Good social networks: “I was lucky to be in a college environment.” Others like

students in residence find ready-made social networks at hand or link up with other

students from their own country.

There are a lot of Chinese students here; you can easily find friends. (female, 24,

industrial relations, China)

The great thing about staying at college is that you don’t get lonely, because your

friends are always around. Yeah, boys and girls. (male, 20, business, Malaysia)

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I think I was lucky to be in a college environment, because I’m not the only one who

is new and lonely. There are other people out there, so I think when you are faced with

that, there are always two things you can do. You can hide in your room and cry alone,

or you can go out and meet people and talk to them, and say “hey, hello, how are

you”. . . and then you say “I’m sad and lonely,” and they say “hey I’m sad and lonely

too, let’s talk, okay.” That is how I developed one of my closest friendships here. A

Pakistani friend, totally from the other side of the world. I’d never really heard of

Pakistan, he’s Muslim and – but we became really good friends and within a year we

were the best of friends. (male, 24, arts, Singapore)

Personal characteristics: “I’ve always been busy.” Some explained the absence

of loneliness by saying that they were extroverted or had learned to be independent

or were just too busy to think about it.

I’ve always been busy, so I haven’t noticed to tell you the truth. The first year I came

here I spent my first semester just doing my master’s. I just worked hard, so it kept

me busy. Then the next six months I engaged in being President (of the postgraduate

student association). And that was that, my agenda filled up automatically. (male, 33,

medicine, Spain)

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

I think the biggest problems most international students face is that of loneliness, and

I mean it really gets to the point of depression. Some of the people I know that I’ve

met, it’s really . . . they don’t know what to do, they don’t know who to go to, because

they have come from countries where it is not acceptable to go and ask for help, you

have to do it yourself. (male, 29, economics, India)

These results confirm the studies of international students summarized by

Poyrazli, Arbona, Bullington, and Pisecco (2001), concerning the effects of losing

family support, the role of social networks, and how unfamiliar cultural and lin-

guistic settings exacerbate loneliness. Students who feel isolated tend to be less

confident than their peers:

An individual’s self-concept and self-esteem are validated by significant others who,

in culturally designed ways, provide emotional and social support. Moving to a dif-

ferent culture suddenly deprives the individual of this support system . . . anxiety is a

normal response in these situations and that it may range from minor annoyance to

extreme pain . . . because they are in a new country facing an unfamiliar language and

culture, international students are likely to experience a more difficult college transi-

tion than U.S. students and might also have a more difficult time seeking appropriate

assistance. (Poyrazli et al., 2001, pp. 54-55)

This study also draws attention to certain issues underplayed in the literature,

especially institutional relationships and some cross-cultural aspects of loneliness.

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Ambiguities of Networks

Among temporary cross-border migrants, the configuration of personal and social

relationships can be unstable and volatile, especially early, as sojourners struggle to

fill the gaps in their lives. As noted, from time to time, institutional settings may take

on quasi-personal or quasi-social roles. Conversely, institutions sometimes expect

that personal and family networks routinely take responsibility for student surveil-

lance and pastoral care, including matters that might be seen to be in the domain of

responsibility of the institution itself.

Here we will provide one example of the latter point, originating from outside

the research for this study but illustrative of the theme of isolation and of what is

at stake in assumptions about the role of informal networks.

On January 12, 2005, police in Australia’s capital city of Canberra discovered the

badly decomposed body of a 25-year-old Chinese student, Hong Jie Zhang (Steffi),

who had been an international student at the nearby University of Canberra. Her body

was in the flat for seven months before her death was discovered (Wikipedia, 2005).

“Any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde,” as Donne so

powerfully stated the case for universal humanism and care. In principle, no

Australian university would disagree. Given the legal framework governing interna-

tional education in Australia, the extent of the University’s responsibility for crisis

management and final care might be contested, but its responsibility for ensuring

that enrolled students attend the institution is clear-cut.

Yet when The Australian newspaper interviewed the vice-chancellor of the

University of Canberra, Professor Roger Dean, “he was cautious in response to ques-

tions about whether the university should shoulder any responsibility for the failure

to notice Hong’s absence.” He cited the failure of social networks. “The idea that

nobody would have noticed her missing from that peer group or from the flat for so

long is quite amazing and very worrying,” he said (Illing, 2005).

It was assumed that Hong’s social networks would fill any gap in university admin-

istration and pastoral care. But how well grounded was that assumption? The notion

that institutional networks should provide a social ambience and support and the

obverse notion that the responsibilities of social networks extend across the responsi-

bilities of the institution both underline the ambiguous roles of social networks. Both

assumptions are also problematic. Some students want the university to assume a

larger social responsibility than it can effectively carry out. In relation to the aftermath

of Hong’s tragic death, the chief officer of the University of Canberra wanted to shed

part of the core responsibilities of the university—by passing them to the uncertain

management of personal and social networks, despite the potential lacunae.

It is true that people with strong support networks tend to exhibit better well-

being and capacity to handle stress, as indicated by Sarason et al. (1997) and others.

This study has found that most students prefer to seek support from friends rather

than rely on the institutional support of the university, confirming Baloglu (2000).

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In the first instance, this mostly means same-culture networks, which is what the

vice-chancellor is referring to. Nevertheless, although such networks are crucial and

must be supported and although they appeal to universities as being both cheap and

culturally sensitive, they should not be seen as the repository for the university’s

own responsibilities. Social networks are voluntary and therefore erratic; they are

incomplete and uneven in their coverage. They cannot provide every student with

the necessary empathy, trust, and practical assistance.

Furthermore, transferring the pastoral burden to same-culture networks is a lazy

strategy that allows the institution to go on without changing itself. At worst, oper-

ating on their own without strong international student engagement in local insti-

tutions, activities, and networks, same-culture networks function as ghettos that

block the potential for a richer educational, social, and cultural experience.

Implications for university services. One set of implications is that friendly class-

rooms, competent administration, and sensitive student services are more significant

for international students than for domestic students. It is essential that universities

resource student servicing and classroom strategies adequate to help students with

personal and social loneliness, especially in the early stages. In the absence of a for-

mal regime of pastoral care as in New Zealand (Lewis, 2005), students rely on uni-

versities to do so voluntarily. Furthermore, in many cases, students should be better

informed about the services already available to them, from the very beginning of

their sojourn.

First, among these university services, none is more important than assistance with

learning English, a vital ongoing condition of survival and academic success. Second,

students should be supported in their personal and social relationships and in main-

taining continuing contact with family and friends back home and developing social

networks. Universities should promote mechanisms that trigger networking, such as

student clubs and buddy systems. Another strategy of local bridging lies in forming

relations with same-culture people outside the universities. In the present study, one

interviewee suggested that universities might ask people living in the city of study, of

the same national origin as the students, to meet with the students when they arrive

and play an ongoing nurturing and mentoring role.

Universities could also conduct regular “network audits” reviewing the social

supports available to each individual international student. It would be salutary to

benchmark student services against the loneliness issue. How does each service con-

tribute to modifying and solving loneliness problems? Are the academic staff and

student-servicing staff fully sensitive to loneliness issues? Where are the gaps? What

kind of students are the ones that often are not helped and why? For example, PhD

students need attention because the isolated character of the project carries social

costs, as testified in this study. Does the institution have collective radar capable of

spotting emerging individual problems? How close to fail-safe is it?

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However, these measures alone are not enough. They provide a more complete

blanket of support but do not transform the cultural configuration in which loneli-

ness occurs. The symptoms need to be tackled, but so do the deeper causes.

Loneliness and Cultural Difference

We suggest that one deeper cause lies in the cross-cultural aspect of loneliness.

It would be easy to conclude from our findings that international students “should

adjust” better and quicker to the local culture and that universities should implement

measures facilitating such more effective “adjustment.” This would not be new. It

has often been said or implied. But “adjustment” is a one-way concept that begs the

question of where obligation to adjust should fall. It assumes that the local cultural

and educational environment is unchangeable. In doing so, it negates the rights of

international students themselves and their potential to contribute.

If we expect sojourning students to set aside core elements of their identity when

undertaking foreign study, we must recognize that this carries with it potentially

severe individual, economic, and cultural costs. To put the problem bluntly, should

they have to acquire not just English but an ideology of possessive individualism, and

a reduced commitment to the extended family, to cope with being in nations like

Australia? Should they have to drink alcohol to mix successfully with local students?

As some interviewees noted, this is what some male international students, including

Muslim students, are expected to do in Australia to demonstrate their credentials in

adjusting and mixing (though it is more likely to be a social requirement in some

places than in others). But even if it was reasonable, such an approach would be

impractical. International students are often highly flexible in the face of the chal-

lenges they face, but few will adopt local values holus-bolus to minimize loneliness.

And why should they? It is not a necessary condition for academic performance; it

would imply that for every cultural gain, there must be a cultural loss; in some cases,

it would be personally destructive.

Cultural loneliness. The present study confirms that loneliness is better under-

stood when cultural variations and intercultural settings are taken into account. We

suggest that to Weiss’ (1973) categories of emotional (personal) loneliness and

social loneliness, a third category should be added: cultural loneliness. Cultural

loneliness is triggered by the absence of the preferred cultural and/or linguistic envi-

ronment. The propensity to cultural loneliness explains why some students in this

study, who have apparently adequate access to social networks and sometimes also

have good personal backup, still report a continuing loneliness.

Q. Did you go to your wife, talk to your wife when you felt lonely?

A. Yes, I think so.

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Q. Or a friend?

A. In fact it’s hard because you come from different countries. (male, 31, computing,

China)

In the face of this, nationally defined, international student organizations play

an often crucial role as student networks. But these are not a universal panacea.

Students from smaller national communities or nondominant ethnic and language

groupings within a nation or students living in remote locations often lack access

to such organizations. And national organizations cannot altogether compensate for

the lacunae in cross-cultural relationships with local students and staff.

The findings of this study also suggest that Hofstede’s (1998) distinction between

individualist and collectivist cultures is powerful in explaining cultural loneliness.

Most international students who study in Australia are from collectivist cultures, and

in Australia, they encounter predominantly Western norms and values that emphasize

individual achievement, competitiveness, and impersonal social relations (Triandis,

1995). Students often find an unaccustomed level of direct pressure on them as

unsupported individuals, triggering a sense of exposure, and social bonds that appear

more loose and detachable than the accustomed ties of family and locality. Cultural

loneliness interacts with and reinforces personal and social loneliness.

In the search for substitutes,6many make friends among their national compatri-

ots or other international students. A minority try to immerse themselves in the local

culture. Many others approach relations with the locals more partially. Yet relations

with locals might be the key to moving forward on loneliness. One of the strongest

findings of the study was that there was a strong correlation between the incidence of

loneliness and problems with cross-cultural relationships. Two thirds (65%) of the

students who reported feelings of loneliness or isolation in Australia had faced barri-

ers in making friends across cultures, compared to 36% of the nonlonely students. In

other words, same-culture networks, however necessary, are not sufficient to over-

come loneliness. This reinforces the point made earlier, that loneliness and isolation

are not the same issue and that overcoming loneliness is not simply a matter of pro-

viding basic support structures, for example, in the form of same-culture associa-

tions; it goes to the wider question of engagement with mainstream local society.

They [international students] just interact with the same people. “Hang on, I’ve come

to Australia, I want to meet somebody else. If I wanted to meet my own countrymen

I would stay back in my country.” So it’s a question of how do you break down the

barriers, how do you get people to interact? (male, 29, economics, India)

As noted, other items in the literature on international education confirm that

international students often find relations with local students to be problematic and

disappointing (Lee et al., 2006).

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Implications for universities. Australian educational institutions and international

students need to devise ways of better adjusting to and learning from each other while

engaging with a more mixed and complex set of values. In this way, students experi-

encing cultural loneliness can begin to remake their own cultural maps so as to

achieve a better fit with their new setting on their own terms. Here the single most

important element in strategies of providing a better environment for international

students is to improve relations with local students. If a stronger social bridge

between international students and their local context is to be built, this is the place

to build it.

The obstacles are formidable but not impossible. It is not simply a matter of the

quantity of networking between locals and internationals. As noted, some theoriza-

tions of networking and loneliness suggest that the strength of the personal bonds

within networks is also important. Students from individualist cultures have different

assumptions about social bonds from those of students from collectivist cultures.

This can be a barrier to forming cross-cultural friendships in depth. Even when inter-

national students have good relations or even friendships with local classmates, this

does not necessarily constitute a satisfying bond. We suggest that if they are to be

assisted in bonding more effectively with international students, local students will

need to become more open to and curious about the lives and values of international

students, enabling them to learn more about the mores of collectivist relationships—

to the extent that they not only understand those values better but at least, to some

extent, can practice those values when relating to international students. The task for

universities is to provide conditions enabling local students to undergo a process of

personal transformation that, if not equivalent to that experienced by international

students, at least moves part of the way in the same direction. This is challenging.

Here we suggest that the creation of more successful educational engagements

between international students and local students, based on sharing and mutual

respect in a common learning setting, could reduce the initial sense of loss experi-

enced by international students, shorten the period of anxiety and greatest difficulty,

provide a starting point for social bonding, mitigate cultural shock, and quicken

learning of conversational and academic English. It could reduce cultural loneliness

and social loneliness at the same time. It could play a central role in satisfying the

need of international students to belong, in what for many is a very different country.

It could help those international students find a middle zone where they could engage

with the local culture without abandoning what they know about themselves,

enabling them to have a sense of belonging in both the nation of origin and the nation

of education. It would also enable significant learning experiences for local students.

Although this article does not aim to provide a new set of pedagogic norms to

enable such a change to come about (that project would require further investigation),

we suggest that it would be fruitful to increase the use of small cross-cultural teams

in learning and develop pedagogies that blend selected Western and Asian classroom

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practices, or move between the different teaching and learning styles, and pedagogies

that draw out in classroom discussion more of the content that international students

have learned in their country of origin, before entering the country of education. A

more sophisticated strategy of cultural interface based on mutual respect would

explore the potential for bilingual education across both groups of students. Here the

inhibiting factor is the largely monocultural character of public discourse and educa-

tion in Australia, as in other English-speaking nations (except Canada).

Another strategy to enhance connections between international students and their

social localities is to build involvement in community-based sporting clubs, activity

groups, religious institutions, and the like, enabling international students to get to

know Anglo-Australians and others. Universities can help by providing contacts.

Local students can play a crucial enabling role.

Beyond the Universities

The university cannot solve every problem of loneliness and isolation through

its own efforts. Often its role is to provide conditions that enable others to do so.

Furthermore, some students face issues that cannot be dealt with effectively by

talking to family and friends but are also beyond the competence of the university.

This applies particularly to issues that originate from within the university itself,

where there might be some reluctance to act, for example, when the people who

normally help international students are themselves the origin of the problem.

There should be some kind of organization where we can go and just talk it out with

somebody. Because when I was three months here all alone and I was very sad, I

really didn’t know where to go. . . . I didn’t want to come to my university. (female,

25, media and communication, India)

The New Zealand code of pastoral care provides for an appeals mechanism giv-

ing international students somewhere else to go (see Deumert et al., 2005a), but a

point of last resort cannot effectively address day-to-day needs. Community-based

international student–related organizations could play a vital role in filling the gap,

provided that they are adequately resourced by the universities and/or the home

governments and/or government of the nation of education.

Further Research

The study suggests a number of avenues for further research.

The causes of and solutions to loneliness could be investigated by focusing on

what happens to the parental bond among sojourners, the nature of and role of

informal networks, and the conditions in which friendships are formed. The con-

sequences of loneliness could also be better understood. One line of inquiry is the

relationship between loneliness and academic achievement and failure.

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The present study suggests that there is scope for more closely exploring national

difference as a variable in relation to the incidence of loneliness, the type of loneli-

ness, and the coping strategies used to overcome loneliness. For example, national

difference might impinge on the experience of loneliness because of the kind of val-

ues and life practices of students (it could be hypothesized that students from collec-

tivist cultures would feel the absence of strong group settings more keenly while also

being more resourceful in banding together) and also because of differences in the

organizational infrastructures and informal networks of the different national group-

ings in Australia. Although the present study asked only one question about loneli-

ness, such research would need to explore the issue more thoroughly for these

hypotheses to be tested.7

Another line of inquiry would be to compare the provision of international stu-

dent services on campus with potential to affect the experience of loneliness (newly

arrived assistance, counseling, crisis management, structured networks and group

activities, activities designed to bring local students together with international stu-

dents, etc.) with what students from those same universities are saying about their

experiences of loneliness and about the services. As discussed above, this kind of

comparison was not possible in the present study, but it might help in more closely

identifying the techniques and systems with the potential to affect loneliness and

isolation and the limits of those techniques and systems.

NOTES

1. The research was part of a group of projects on cross-border global people

mobility under the heading “Global People Markets and Social Protection.”

2. This data release generated considerable public interest in Australia and led

to the development and funding of a further research project on “The Social and

Economic Protection of Cross-Border Students in the Global Education Market”

(Nyland, Marginson, Ramia, & Gallagher, 2005-2007).

3. However, one survey in an institution indicates that international students are

unable to make maximum use of those services: Half of the student respondents

indicated that they were unaware of the particular services named in the survey

(Schweitzer, 1996). This prompted the Western Australian Technology and Industry

Advisory Council (Western Australia State Government, 2000) to recommend that

the universities in that state expose their support services more vigorously.

4. We thank one of the referees for this suggestion.

5. Hofstede’s (1998) other four dimensions are power distance, masculinity ver-

sus femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term versus short-term orientation.

These are judged to be less relevant to the data gathered in this study but might

become more useful in a related study that investigated in more depth the relation-

ship between experiences of loneliness and cultural difference (see Loneliness and

Cultural Difference).

6. No doubt some girlfriend/boyfriend couplings have their origins in the loss of

contact with family: Deniz (2005) finds, in relation to students in Turkey, that the

loneliness levels of university students who have a romantic relationship were

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176 Journal of Studies in International Education Summer 2008

found to be significantly lower than the loneliness levels of other students.

However, none of the interviewees in the study being reported here, who had

boyfriends/girlfriends, actually stated that their romantic relationships originated

from a feeling of loneliness. Interviewees were not closely questioned on the topic

of romantic relationships.

7. Other articles arising from the data set on which this article is based also

explore cross-cultural issues, the subject of several interview questions.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Erlenawati Sawir is a sociolinguist who works on intercultural communication,

globalization, and international education as a Research Fellow in the Center for the

Study of Higher Education (CSHE), University of Melbourne, Australia.

Simon Marginson is a professor of higher education who works on comparative and

international higher education in the context of globalization, in the CSHE, University

of Melbourne. He is also an Australian Professorial Fellow.

Ana Deumert is a sociolinguist who works in the Faculty of Arts, Monash University,

Australia. Her research covers language planning/policy, language and migration, lan-

guage contact, and second-language acquisition.

Chris Nyland is a professor of international business who works also on the history of

economic and management thought in the Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash

University, Australia.

Gaby Ramia works on international business and social policy in the Faculty of

Business and Economics, Monash University, Australia.

at University of Melbourne Library on May 26, 2008 http://jsi.sagepub.comDownloaded from

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Background of the study: Stress, anxiety, and depression are rather common during higher education time and have a bad effect on academic performance. There is evidence that mindfulness practices can enhance the mental health and exist over how stress, anxiety, and depression are affected. In this study, the post-graduate students of Odisha were assessed to see how well mindfulness treated their stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms. Objective: To assess the impact of mindfulness on stress, anxiety, and depression among the post-graduate students of Odisha. Methods: Several articles were searched from different online platforms like PubMed, PsycINFO, Google scholar etc. After searching many articles, the data were collected from online survey among the post-graduate students of Odisha by using two questionnaires; those are “FFMQ-15” and DASS-21. The data collected from the post-graduate students inviting them to take part in the online and offline survey during the academic year 2021-2022. This study was selected only as a sample here for the post-graduate students of Odisha. The present study was conducted on the sample of 220. The data were calculated through statistical package for social sciences (SPSS-20 version). Findings: The result shows that the mindfulness reduced stress, anxiety, and depression of post-graduate students of Odisha. The participants reported considerably bigger gains in mindfulness as well as greater decrease in stress, anxiety, and depression. Implication of the Study: The study's findings will raise awareness among the post-graduate students or people from all lifestyles. The mindfulness practice can reduce all type of physical and psychological stress. Moreover, it reduces the academic anxiety and depression.

Examining the effectiveness and acceptability of a group-based ACT intervention delivered by videoconference to international university students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Article

Sep 2023

Profiling Norwegian business students considering studying abroad through credit mobility

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2023

Background: Governments want students to gain an international learning experience by taking part of their study abroad through credit mobility. Only a few students are interested to take up this call to study abroad.Aim: We study students’ motivation for partaking in credit mobility and whether students’ preferences for studying abroad can be profiled according to their motivation and socio-demographic characteristics. This study sheds light on the motivational and constraining factors that students consider when deciding to take part in their study abroad or not.Setting: We study Norwegian business bachelor students in their 2nd year, at the time they need to take a decision for partaking in credit mobility.Methods: This is a quantitative study applying principal correspondence analysis based on survey data collected among 2nd-year business bachelor students at a business school.Results: The results show that students perceive that different countries or regions provide different benefits and drawbacks related to a credit mobility study situation.Conclusion: Students consider their living situation, the safety and utility of the study to stay abroad, the benefit of alternative use of time, the extent to which the student views this as academically possible, and whether it is possible and wise to study abroad in a given country.Contribution: We report students’ preferences when selecting the host country for their potential credit mobility study. These inputs could inform credit mobility offerings, allowing the supply and demand of where and how students want to study abroad, to be met in a better way.

The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminate validity evidence

Article

Full-text available

Oct 1980
J PERS SOC PSYCHOL

The development of an adequate assessment instrument is a necessary prerequisite for social psychological research on loneliness. Two studies provide methodological refinement in the measurement of loneliness. Study 1 presents a revised version of the self-report UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) Loneliness Scale, designed to counter the possible effects of response bias in the original scale, and reports concurrent validity evidence for the revised measure. Study 2 demonstrates that although loneliness is correlated with measures of negative affect, social risk taking, and affiliative tendencies, it is nonetheless a distinct psychological experience.

Intercultural Communication Training: An Introduction

Book

Jan 1994

Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Migration

Chapter

Mar 2018

Exploratory intervention with a scale measuring adjustment to college.

Article

Jan 1986

Describes an intervention into the lives of college freshmen that was based on a scale measuring adjustment to college developed by the present authors (see record 1984-21813-001). 216 Ss initially completed the scale, and 150 Ss with high or low scores were assigned to interview or no-interview conditions. The scale was also used to serve as a source of topics for discussion in interviews and to measure the effects of intervention through pre- and posttesting. Qualitative and quantitative findings are presented regarding (a) attitude of Ss toward use of the scale, (b) the correspondence between test data and effectiveness of adjustment to college, and (c) the consequences of intervention by interviews for Ss indicated by the scale as well-adjusted and less well-adjusted. Results support the validity of the scale and the beneficial effects of relatively modest interventions in improving ratings of adjustment and reducing drop-outs. (14 ref)

The experience of loneliness

Article

Jan 1982

God help me: Toward a theoretical framework of coping for the psychology of religion

Article

Jan 1990

K.I. Pargament

Adjustment issues of Turkish college students studying in the United States

Article

Jan 2001
Coll Student J

Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research, and therapy

Article

Jan 1982

Carolyn Cutrona

LONELINESS INDUCED BY SITUATIONAL CHANGES IN THE LIVES OF FRESHMEN

Article

Feb 1986

Katsuhide Moroi

The main purpose of this study was to examine i) changes in loneliness assessed by the UCLA Loneliness Scale, ii) various aspects of social networks, and iii) the relationships between i) and ii), during the adaptive period to situational changes in the lives of freshmen.Results of the preliminary survey (N=203) suggested that anonymous ratings for the UCLA Loneliness Scale were not biased by need for social approval.The following results of the main follow-up survey (N=233) were obtained.1) Only students separated from their family showed decreases in loneliness.2) Students separated from their family formed new social networks actively, while students with their family kept friendships which they had formed before college entrance.3) The relationships among loneliness and various aspects of social networks varied with both questionnaire sessions and living situations.

Loneliness: A Source-Book of Current Theory, Research and Therapy

Article

Mar 1984

Loneliness and International Students: An Australian Study

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