Study: Americans Who Complete College Are Less Lonely

A recent study found that Americans who completed college or university are more likely to have friends and are less lonely than those who only finished high school.

The findings¹ come at a time when many Americans question whether a college degree is worth its cost.

Daniel Cox is director of the Survey Center on American Life and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise² Institute. He said that, in general, Americans are experiencing a "friend recession," meaning a decline³ in their number of friends.

Cox noted⁴ that "Americans have fewer close friends today than we did in the early '90s. But some groups were particularly affected⁵ in that they seem to have experienced⁶ a much more dramatic⁷ decline over that time period."

He added, "And there are two groups that really stood out. The first is men. And the second one is people without a college degree."

The Survey Center on American Life questioned 5,054 people this past summer. It found that Americans with a college degree feel more socially connected and are more active in their communities than people who did not go to college. As a result, those who completed college report feeling less lonely.

Cox believes that the issue is a result of the decline in "traditional institutions," meaning religion, marriage, and unions.

"Unions were primarily⁸ financial, but they also offered a lot of social support and social connection and feelings of belonging as well. The decline of unions, the decline of marriage and the decline of religion have all disproportionately affected the noncollege group.""

Disproportionately, in this case, means too large in relation to something.

Previous research shows that Americans who did not go to college are less likely to marry. A 2013 study of people born between 1957 and 1964 found that both men and women who did not finish high school were less likely to marry than those with more education.

A 2012 study found that college-educated women were much more likely to get married than women who dropped out of high school.

Cox points to research that shows that people who are married are more likely to have larger social groups and more close friends and report feeling lonely less often.

Today, 65 percent of college-educated Americans over age 25 are married. About 50 percent of people with a high school diploma, or who dropped out of high school, are married.

Those numbers were different in 1990, when marriage rates among the college educated were at 69 percent, compared with 63 percent for those who did not go to college, says a Pew research report.

Pew also finds that Americans are less religious overall⁹. The percentage of Americans who say they're "religiously unaffiliated" rose from 17 percent in 2009 to 26 percent in 2018 and 2019.

When it comes to unions, the percentage of workers who belong to a union has declined¹⁰ by almost half since 1983, when 20 percent of U.S. workers were union members. Union membership¹¹ had dropped to 10.8 percent by 2020.

The American Community Life Survey found that around 1 in 10 college graduates say they have no close social connections. That number rises among Americans without a degree, where almost 1 in 4 say they have no close friends.

Words in This Story

dramatic -- adj. sudden and extreme

decline -- n. the process of becoming worse in condition or quality

primarily – adv. used to indicate the main purpose of something, reason for something, etc.

graduate – n. a person who has earned a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

1 findings   

n.发现物( finding的名词复数 )；调查（或研究）的结果；（陪审团的）裁决

参考例句：

• It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。

2 enterprise   

n.企业单位，商业公司，事业，计划

参考例句：

• They are determined to carry forward the enterprise.他们决心把事业进行下去。
• The enterprise has excellent prospects.这家企业的远景极其美好。

3 decline   

n.衰微，跌落，下降；vt.使降低，婉谢；vi.下降，衰落，偏斜

参考例句：

• I must decline to show favour to any of the candidates.我必须拒绝偏袒任何一位候选人。
• The birthrate is on the decline.出生率在下降。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

7 dramatic   

adj.引人注目的；戏剧的；演戏的

参考例句：

• She plays a very dramatic woman with flashing eyes.她饰演一位双眼闪光的引人注目的妇人。
• His speech was dramatic.他的演说激动人心。

8 primarily   

adv.首先，主要地，基本地

参考例句：

• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people.这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。
• I am primarily interested in history.我主要对历史感兴趣。

9 overall   

n.工作服，工装裤；全面的，全体的

参考例句：

• The shop assistant was wearing a white overall.那店员穿着白色的工作服。
• How much will it cost overall?一共多少钱？

10 declined   

v.辞谢，谢绝（邀请等）( decline的过去式和过去分词 )；（道路、物体等）下倾；（太阳）落下；（在品格、价值上）降低

参考例句：

• We asked her to come to our party, but she declined. 我们请她来参加我们的晚会，但是她谢绝了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He declined to charge his memory with so many details. 他不愿在脑中记这么多细枝末节。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 membership   

n.成员资格，会员全体，从属关系

参考例句：

• I must renew my membership of the sailing club.我必须延续我的航海俱乐部会员的资格。
• He made up his mind to apply for membership in the Party.他决心申请入党。