Date Thesis Awarded
5-2024
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Science (BS)
Department
Psychology
Advisor
Joanna Schug
Committee Members
Xiaowen Xu
Michael Cronin
Abstract
This study tracks change in measures of relational mobility and loneliness collected between 2018 and 2023. The timing of these studies allows us to explore potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on relational mobility and loneliness. Previous research has demonstrated differences in relational mobility in countries around the world (Thomson et al., 2018; Yuki & Schug, 2012), but little research has explored within-culture variation; demonstrating within-culture change would support the ability of the relational mobility scale to assess variation in socio-ecological environments. In these studies, we examine how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the ease at which people are able to meet, choose, and leave relationships in two countries, whether loneliness increased during the pandemic, and how changes in perceptions of societal relational mobility compare to people’s perceptions of their personal relational mobility. Our results indicate that both relational mobility and personal mobility showed significant decreases during the pandemic. Relational mobility and personal relational mobility began to recover post-pandemic. Additionally, personal mobility rebound post-pandemic may have been faster than rebound in perceptions of societal relational mobility, while loneliness increased during the pandemic and did not show significant recovery. Our results validate the relational mobility scale as a measurement of social opportunities.
Recommended Citation
Rosenberg, Carina, "Perceptions of relational mobility and loneliness among American university students before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic" (2024). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 2122.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/2122
