Family functioning and loneliness among college students in online learning during the covid-19 pandemic: subjective vitality as mediator

Abstract

The global pandemic of COVID-19 prompted the enforcement of online education among college students in mainland China. This way of delivering courses cut students from enough socialization and forced them to stay at home for months, which involved them in increasing levels of loneliness. Some theories emphasize the role of family functioning in people’s loneliness, but the association between family functioning and loneliness and the mediating mechanism underlying this relation have not been extensively researched. This study aims to examine the relationship between family functioning and loneliness and, if the relation exists, whether subjective vitality mediates in this association. A total of 385 Chinese college students completed measures of adaptability and cohesion, loneliness, and subjective vitality. The results showed that family functioning had a significant and negative influence on the levels of loneliness of the college students and that this relationship was partially mediated by the role of subjective vitality. The current study contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between family functioning, loneliness and subjective vitality, especially during tough times such as the global COVID-19 epidemic.