The Professional Counselor | Volume 13, Issue 1 49 Although this study supports the established relationship of insecure attachment styles and high levels of loneliness, as well as the mediation effect of social self-efficacy on insecure attachment and loneliness, we recognize that existing research has examined the mediating effect after controlling for some psychological distress like depression (Wei et al., 2005). As a result, we reviewed the mediating effects of other constructs that are comparable to social self-efficacy. Our study provides support for mediating effects of feelings of inferiority on insecure attachment and loneliness (Akdoğan, 2017), as well as for mediating effects of social support (Benoit & DiTommaso, 2020). We posit that feelings of inferiority and lack of social support are very similar to lack of social self-efficacy and have significant clinical implications. Implications for Counseling Our findings suggest that attachment style greatly influences loneliness and the propensity for how one makes and maintains relationships (Akdoğan, 2017; Helm et al., 2020). For emerging adults who are at Erikson’s stage of intimacy versus isolation, loneliness can be understood as a developmental struggle that some students may need help resolving, particularly if they have avoidant or anxious attachment styles (Erikson, 1980). Counselors should therefore broach the subject of loneliness and assess for loneliness and low self-efficacy with clients as well as examine interpersonal difficulties on campus. College counselors could utilize the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) Level 1 and Level 2 cross-cutting symptom measures for adults or the widely used Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS; Locke et al., 2011), as well as readily available assessments for depression and anxiety, to collect data on students’ levels of psychological stress. Psychological stress, depression, and anxiety are identified as contributors to and symptoms of loneliness (Cacioppo et al., 2015; Fink, 2014; Moeller & Seehuus, 2019) and can further provide information on social self-efficacy. Additionally, during the normal intake session and risk assessments, counselors should assess for social support, thereby gathering qualitative data on students’ social networks and the quality of their interpersonal relationships. Because social self-efficacy mediated the relationship between attachment and loneliness, it could prove helpful for counselors to help clients bolster their prosocial skills and interpersonal confidence. This could be done through individual and group counseling interventions based on clients’ assessed needs related to psychological stress and interpersonal difficulties. Furthermore, because counseling promotes a strength-based and wellness philosophy, counselors can work with all students to enhance prosocial skills and interpersonal confidence and resiliency. Bandura (2000) noted that high social self-efficacy requires greater cognitive resourcefulness and flexibility to not only manage the environment but as motivation to achieve a desired goal. For college students, bolstering social self-efficacy might help to build interpersonal confidence, enhance motivation, and give them social capital (Thomas et al., 2020). Our hope is that through these processes, students’ intra- and interpersonal development regarding increased social self-efficacy will translate to academic success, personal success, and a decrease in perceived loneliness. Because of the interactive nature of group counseling, it may be useful as a therapeutic approach to reducing loneliness in college students. Group counseling may also reveal how those with loneliness approach developing relationships with others in the group. Group work is known to be highly effective and superior to individual therapy, as it provides opportunities for social learning,
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