Loneliness, Learned Resourcefulness, and Self‐Esteem in College Students

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among types of loneliness and learned resourcefulness, self‐esteem, and gender among a sample of college students. The Revised University of California, Los Angeles, Loneliness Scale (R‐UCLA), Rosenbaum's Self‐Control Schedule, a measure of learned resourcefulness, and Rosenberg's Self‐Esteem Scale were administered to 625 college students. Previous factor analyses of the R‐UCLA revealed that it measures 2 distinct types of loneliness: intimate loneliness and social loneliness. Results of multiple regression analyses revealed that self‐esteem and gender significantly predicted the experience of global loneliness (as measured by the full‐scale R‐UCLA), intimate loneliness, and social loneliness. Learned resourcefulness significantly predicted social loneliness only. Implications for college student counseling and future research are discussed.