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This article aims to explore the possible causal relationship between loneliness and depression in college students. Two hundred and fifty-nine college students had been investigated four times in 2 years with UCLA and CES-D, and cross-lagged regression analysis was used. (1) there was a significant positive correlation between loneliness and depression of college students; (2) cross-lagged regression analysis showed that after controlling the related variables and the stability of variables themselves, loneliness, and depression could positively predict each other at points-in-time T1 and T2; Depression could significantly positively predict loneliness at points-in-time T2, T3, and T4. There is a bidirectional relationship between loneliness and depression of college students, and the effect of depression on loneliness is stronger than that of loneliness on depression.

Objective: This study aims to explore the moderating role of affinity for aloneness and gender in the relationship between loneliness and depression. Methods: The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) loneliness scale, the Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LACA), and the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) were administered for 831 college students (317 males and 460 females). Results: (1) Males had higher scores than females for loneliness and depression; (2) Loneliness was positively associated with affinity for aloneness and depression, whereas affinity for aloneness was positively associated with depression; and (3) The moderating effects of affinity for aloneness in the correlation between loneliness and depression only existed in males, and affinity for aloneness can buffer the effect of loneliness on depression. Results: Affinity for aloneness may be a buffering factor that serves to protect individuals with high loneliness from developing psychological problems, especially among males.