The Impacts of Pilgrimage on Positive and Negative Aspects of Loneliness among University Students

The present paper is an attempt to study the impacts of pilgrimage on positive and negative aspects of loneliness among university students. A Total of 389 students in two groups, i.e. pilgrim students (test group including 60 male and 151 female) and non-pilgrim students (control group 59 male and 119 female) were selected from three universities in Tehran through available sampling method. The tools used included Iran Loneliness Questionnaire, Spiritual-Religious Loneliness Questionnaire, and Religious Orientation Scale. The results of the research were analyzed through covariance analysis by studying each subscales and by taking into account the balancing role of religious orientation and gender. The findings indicate that pilgrimage (particularly going on pilgrimage to Imam Reza’s Shrine), a religious behavior, reduced the negative impacts of loneliness among the people with weaker religious orientation through establishing emotional and spiritual relations between the pilgrim and the Saint. Moreover, among the people with higher religious orientation, pilgrimage caused an increase in positive aspects of loneliness among women and a decrease in positive aspects of loneliness among men.