Guldner, Gregory T. May/June 1996.
This article was based on a study of college students in romantic relationships, for the purpose of investigating two hypotheses. The first hypothesis was that the percentage of college students involved in Long Distance Relationships (LDRs) would be close to 25%. The second was that the stress level of students in LDRs would be significantly greater than that of students in close Proximity Relationships (PRs), because of "separation-related depression", and other related factors.
The study was conducted on 384 college students, 194 of whom were in LDRs. Data recorded included the mean age of the participants and their partners, the average distance they were separated and for how many days, the length of time they had been dating, and the frequency between face-to-face visits. The remaining 190 participants were involved in PRs. The age of these participants, that of their partners, and the length of time they had dated was recorded.
The participants were asked to fill out a survey called the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and responded to statements with five intensity levels ranging from "not at all" to "extremely.".
The participants involved in LDRs reported "significantly greater scores on the depression, phobic anxiety, and psychoticism subscales". Those in LDRs also reported feeling "uneasy in crowds". It was also calculated that 25% of college students are in LDRs, totaling 1.3 million students. The study also showed that women in LDRs showed higher levels of stress than men, and that stress was indeed higher in participants involved in LDRs than those in PRs.
Conclusions drawn from the data included a three-stage response resulting from separation, high suicide rates in college students attributed to "conflict-separation-rejection," students in LDRs experienced "role confusion," and that high levels of depression were a response to separation.
