Gender Differences, Loneliness, Self Esteem and Depression in A Sample of Nigerian University Students

Abstract

Loneliness is a hurtful feeling that has been attributed to a discrepancy between desired and achieved levels of social contact, self esteem has to do with an individual's overall evaluation of his or her sense of worth, whereas depression was associated with isolated lives, the absence of pleasure as well as social and vocational impairment. The UCLA loneliness scale (version 3), the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (SES), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-2) were used to assess loneliness, self esteem and depression among 610 university students. Result revealed various levels of loneliness, self esteem and depression among the students.