Homesickness and its Impact on Psychosocial Adjustment and Gastrointestinal Health in University Hostel Students

Abstract

Homesickness is a prevalent psychological issue among university 
hostel residents, and it can lead to poor psychosocial connections and 
stress-related physical health issues, particularly gastrointestinal 
disorders. Emotional resilience, or the capacity to function well under 
pressure, may be essential to reducing these effects. This study was 
aimed to investigate the relationship between homesickness; 
psychosocial adjustment and gastrointestinal health while the 
moderating role of emotional resilience among university hostel 
students. The current study used the correlational survey research 
design and purposive sampling technique. The sample consisted of 250 
university hostel students with an age range of 18 to 30 years selected 
from different government and private hostels of Sargodha City. The 
following instruments of Homesickness scale developed by (Archer et 
al., 1998). The findings of the study showed that homesickness has 
significant and negative relation with gastrointestinal health and 
psychosocial adjustment while emotional resilience worked as a 
moderator with increase in emotional resilience caused to decrease in 
homesickness level, improved gastrointestinal health and psychosocial 
adjustment among university hostel students.  Limitations and 
suggestions were discussed for future research.