Homesickness in University Students: A Scoping Review

The experience of leaving home to pursue university education represents a significant life transition that may have profound implications for student well-being, mental health, and university adaptation. Fisher et al. (1985) conceptualized homesickness as a multidimensional construct encompassing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components related to longing for home and distress at separation. Subsequent research has documented that homesickness is a common experience that impacts student adaptation and adjustment during the first year of college (Thurber & Walton, 2012; English et al., 2017). Other conceptualizations have suggested it may represent a form of mini-grief (Stroebe et al., 2016). The empirical literature reveals important associations between homesickness and multiple student outcomes: research demonstrates impacts on academic performance and retention (Sun et al., 2016), with mood regulation and relationship quality emerging as important predictors of changes in homesickness across the college experience (Landa et al., 2020). Additionally, individual and contextual factors such as gender, age, and emotional intelligence appear to moderate the experience and consequences of homesickness (Abbas et al., 2018). While research on homesickness in university students has grown, the literature remains dispersed across multiple disciplines with varying conceptualizations and measurement approaches. A systematic review by Stroebe et al. (2015) examined the scientific literature on homesickness, yet a comprehensive scoping review specifically focused on homesickness in university students is needed to map the breadth of research, clarify how homesickness is conceptualized and measured across different contexts, identify associated predisposing factors and consequences, and document existing interventions and support strategies. This scoping review aims to explore the literature on homesickness among university students. This review will identify and characterize studies examining homesickness in university students, including how homesickness is conceptualized, measured, and investigated across different contexts. This review will include studies from major academic databases and will be conducted by two independent reviewers. The review will provide a comprehensive overview of scientific literature on homesickness in university students and will identify areas for future research. Understanding the landscape of homesickness research is important for supporting university student well-being. References: Abbas, J., Aqeel, M., Wenhong, Z., Aman, J., & Zahra, F. (2018). The moderating role of gender inequality and age among emotional intelligence, homesickness and development of mood swings in university students. International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, 11(5), 356–367. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHRH-11-2017-0071 English, T., Davis, J., Wei, M., & Gross, J. J. (2017). Homesickness and adjustment across the first year of college: A longitudinal study. Emotion, 17(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000235 Fisher, S., Murray, K., & Frazer, N. A. (1985). Homesickness, health and efficiency in first year students. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 5(3), 181–195. Landa, I., Bono, T. J., & English, T. (2020). Mood regulation and relationship quality predict change in homesickness during college. British Journal of Psychology, 111(1), 55–69. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12386 Stroebe, M., Schut, H., & Nauta, M. (2015). Homesickness: A systematic review of the scientific literature. Review of General Psychology, 19(2), 157–171. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000037 Stroebe, M., Schut, H., & Nauta, M. (2016). Is homesickness a mini-grief? Development of a dual process model. Clinical Psychological Science, 4(2), 344–358. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702615585302 Sun, J., Hagedorn, L. S., & Zhang, Y. L. (2016). Homesickness at college: Its impact on academic performance and retention. Journal of College Student Development, 57(8), 943–957. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2016.0092 Thurber, C. A., & Walton, E. A. (2012). Homesickness and adjustment in university students. Journal of American College Health, 60(5), 415–419. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2012.673520