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College students’ daily mind wandering is related to lower social well-being

Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Objective. This study sought to examine how daily mind wandering is related to loneliness, felt connection to others, and school belonging among college students.Participants. Three samples (n = 209, n = 173, and n = 266) on two US campuses were recruited.Methods. Data were collected via ecological momentary assessment over the course of two academic quarters in one sample and an academic semester in two samples.Results. Social well-being declined throughout the academic term in all samples. Lower day-to-day mind wandering predicted lower loneliness at the next time point and was concurrently related to higher felt connection to others and higher school belonging. Thoughts about the past and future were associated with lower social well-being than present-focused thoughts.Conclusions. This research supports the proposition that promoting present-centered attention can benefit college students’ social well-being and alleviate feelings of loneliness and isolation that they often experience.
DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2024.2351417
Authors: Polina Beloborodova, Janine M. Dutcher, Daniella K. Villalba, Michael J. Tumminia, Afsaneh Doryab, Kasey Creswell, Sheldon Cohen, Yasaman Sefidgar, Woosuk Seo, Jennifer Mankoff, Anind K. Dey, J. David Creswell, Kirk Warren Brown
Institutions: Virginia Commonwealth University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Virginia, University of Washington, University of Michigan
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4399141451
FWCI: 0.485
Cites: 54
Cited by: 2
Related to: 10