<![CDATA[Senior college students face various academic demands, particularly the writing of their theses, which can trigger negative emotions such as stress, anxiety, and frustration. Emotional regulation skills are essential for adaptively managing emotional experiences, while difficulties in regulating emotions can increase the risk of loneliness. Loneliness arises from the gap between expected and actual social relationships. Previous research has generally focused on young adults in general and has not specifically examined senior students in Medan from various universities who are currently completing their theses. This study fills that gap by examining the relationship between emotional regulation and loneliness in this local context as a novel contribution. The purpose of this study is to determine the profile of emotional regulation, the profile of loneliness, and the relationship between the two among senior students in Medan. This study contributes theoretically to the advancement of psychology and practically to students, universities, and future researchers. The study’s limitations include generalizability restricted to the city of Medan, a correlational design, the use of self-report measures, and the examination of only two variables. The method used was a quantitative correlational study involving 355 respondents selected through purposive sampling. The instruments, the Emotional Regulation Scale and the UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3 were analyzed using Spearman’s Rho. The results indicate that emotional regulation tends to be high and loneliness is moderate, and there is a significant negative correlation of moderate strength (r = −0.425; p < 0.001). Emotional regulation accounts for 18% of the variance in loneliness. These findings support the theories of Gross, Perlman, and Peplau, as well as Weiss. From a practical perspective, there is a need to improve students’ emotional regulation skills and to implement psychological counseling programs at universities]]>
Copyrights © 2026
