The Interplay of Loneliness, Boredom Proneness, and Suicidal Ideation in Male and Female Engineering Students

Description

Sraboni Chatterjee (Department of Psychology, Bijoy Krishna Girls’ College, Howrah, West Bengal)

Students frequently experience severe psychological stress as a result of the demanding academic requirements and competitive environment of engineering school. This study looks at how engineering students in Kolkata differ by gender in terms of loneliness, boredom, and suicidal thoughts, as well as how these factors relate to one another. Based on predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, 200 B. Tech students from middle-class Bengali Hindu families-100 males along with 100 females between the ages of 23 to 25 were chosen. An information schedule and standardized measures, including the Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (Reynolds, 1991), UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1980), and Boredom Proneness Scale (Sundberg, 1986) were used. Independent t-tests, correlation analyses, and descriptive statistics were used. The findings showed that when it came to suicidal thoughts, boredom proneness, and loneliness, female students outperformed male students by a large margin. Both genders exhibited positive relationships between loneliness and boredom proneness, and suicidal ideation was significantly correlated with both traits. With female pupils more susceptible to emotional distress, these results demonstrate a clear gender disparity in psychological adjustment. Research underlines essential requirement for gender-sensitive mental health interventions and support structures in engineering education to improve resilience and wellness.