Loneliness among emerging adults in college has been primarily attributed to real and perceived socioemotional deficits. We posit that the cognitive underpinnings of loneliness are more complex. Participants were 520 students at a small liberal arts college in the Western United States (M _age = 19.97; 69.7% women; 54.6% White) and 551 students at a large university in west-central Poland (M _age = 21.72; 74.5% women; 100% White). In both samples, attributing loneliness to deficits in friendships, not feeling connected to peers, and concerns about one’s identity and future were uniquely associated with greater loneliness. Attributing loneliness to romantic deficits was also associated with greater loneliness, but this relation was stronger for men than women. Nationality moderated the relationship between attributing loneliness to social deficits and loneliness. The results underscore that school administrators in the United States and Europe who are concerned about student mental health would benefit from a more nuanced understanding of loneliness.

大学新生成年人的孤独感主要归因于实际和感知的社会情感缺陷。我们认为孤独的认知基础更为复杂。参加者为美国西部一所小型文理学院的520名学生（M _年龄= 19.97；女性为69.7％；白人为54.6％），以及波兰中西部的一所大型大学的551名学生（M _年龄）= 21.72; 74.5％的女性; 100％白色）。在这两个样本中，将孤独归因于友谊的不足，没有与同伴的联系以及对一个人的身份和未来的担忧与更大的孤独感有着独特的联系。将孤独归因于浪漫的缺失也与更大的孤独感有关，但是这种关系对于男人来说比女人更牢固。国籍减轻了将孤独归因于社会赤字与孤独之间的关系。结果强调，在美国和欧洲，对学生心理健康感到担忧的学校管理者将从对寂寞的更细微差别的理解中受益。