Has loneliness increased during COVID-19? Comment on “Loneliness: A signature mental health concern in the era of COVID-19”

Sutin, Angelina R.; Luchetti, Martina; Terracciano, Antonio

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113295

Cited by 30 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…To date, only anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression have been documented among college students in China and the US (Cao et al 2020;Chang, Yuan, and Wang 2020;Huckins et al 2020). Recent reports on loneliness during COVID-19 have yielded controversial results, and differences between subpopulations evaluated (Killgore et al 2020;Luchetti et al 2020;Sutin, Luchetti, and Terracciano 2020). Consequently, the prevalence and potential worsening of loneliness, substance abuse, and other mental health symptoms in young adults remain important to assess, especially while bracing for an anticipated post-COVID "social recession" (Gabbatt 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Loneliness, Mental Health, and Substance Use among US Young Adults during COVID-19

Horigian

Schmidt

Feaster

2020

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs

282

196

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As COVID-19 converges with loneliness and addiction epidemics in the US, both public health and mental health experts forecast dramatic increases in substance use and mental health conditions. This cross-sectional study evaluated relationships of loneliness with depression, anxiety, alcohol use, and drug use during COVID-19, and assessed perceived increases in these symptoms in young adults. Between April 22 and May 11, 2020, 1,008 participants ages 18-35 were recruited through social media to a one-time, online anonymous survey. Symptomatology was assessed using six scales. Perceived changes since COVID-19 were evaluated using 5-point Likert scales. Forty-nine percent of respondents reported loneliness scores above 50; 80% reported significant depressive symptoms; 61% reported moderate to severe anxiety; 30% disclosed harmful levels of drinking. While only 22% of the population reported using drugs, 38% reported severe drug use. Loneliness was associated with higher levels of mental health symptomatology. Participants reported significant increases across mental health and substance use symptoms since COVID-19. While direct impacts of COVID-19 could only be calculated with pre-pandemic assessments of these symptoms, estimates indicate elevated psychosocial symptomatology and suggest that symptoms could have worsened since the pandemic. Findings underscore the importance of prevention and intervention to address these public health problems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Loneliness, Mental Health, and Substance Use among US Young Adults during COVID-19

Horigian

Schmidt

Feaster

2020

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs

282

196

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We hypothesized that: Based on longitudinal studies [ 19 , 20 , 21 ] and ideas suggested by Sutin [ 17 ], we expected no or small effects of the pandemic on the general scores on loneliness. We also hypothesized that partial scores of loneliness, related to particular social background might decrease because of induced increase in objective time people spent with their families; Based on socioemotional theory [ 31 ], which argues that motives for social interaction change across the lifespan, we hypothesized that these changes might affect experiences of loneliness in different adult age groups; Based on the same theory [ 31 ], we assumed that generalized experience of loneliness in different age groups coming from pre-pandemic and pandemic samples could be explained by different partial characteristics of loneliness.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the same time, a study by Tull and colleagues [ 16 ] showed that COVID-19-related impact, based on self-reports, negatively predicted loneliness. One possible explanation for this was suggested by Sutin and colleagues [ 17 ]: they proposed that the pandemic caused not only unpredictable distress and limitations, it also led people to provide more support. Thus, despite some social restrictions, the quality of communications could improve.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Loneliness among Middle-Aged and Older Middle-Aged Adults in Russia (Saint Petersburg) before and during COVID-19 Pandemic

Strizhitskaya

Petrash

Murtazina

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Loneliness has been considered a major challenge since long before the pandemic. Changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic included modifications in social communications and activities. Thus, it was expected that loneliness would increase during the pandemic. The first studies of loneliness during the pandemic revealed inconsistent results. We hypothesized that physical isolation led to changes in the quality of relationships; thus, loneliness trends could be different from those predicted. For our study we used methods to measure loneliness: the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale (SELSA-S) for Adults and Older Adults; the Multidimensional Inventory of Loneliness Experience; and demographic data. Participants were middle-aged and older middle-aged adults (n = 457) aged 35–59 (M = 45.5, SD = 6.88, 35.4% males). Participants came from two studies: Study 1 consisted of 280 participants aged 35–59 (M = 44.8; SD = 6.93; 29.6% males), the study was conducted before the pandemic in late 2019; participants in Study 2 were adults (n = 177) aged 35–59 (M = 46.5; SD = 6.68; 44.6% males), data were collected in the fall of 2020. The results did not confirm increase in loneliness; moreover, participants reported lower scores of loneliness in some domains. Regression analyses showed that general experience of loneliness was predicted by different loneliness characteristics in pre-pandemic and pandemic age groups. We found some similar mechanisms that were activated within different situations. Our results confirmed the complex nature of loneliness, they argue that pandemic effects were not limited to increase in loneliness and that the mechanism of loneliness can adjust to environmental factors.

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“…Positive effects included more opportunities for social contact (often facilitated by technology), a sense of comfort resulting from the fact that everyone was facing similar circumstances, and respite from one's day-to-day life. Although references to these positive effects might be surprising given the focus on the potential negative effects of social distancing and some preliminary evidence suggesting increases in loneliness [24], other research also suggests that loneliness may not have increased as much as people feared during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic [63]. For instance, one nationwide study assessed US residents at 3 different periods of time: before the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, in late March 2020, and in late April 2020 (the same time frame when this focus group was conducted).…”

Section: Experience With Social Distancingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of a Digital Intervention (Happify) on Loneliness During COVID-19: Qualitative Focus Group

Boucher¹,

McNaughton²,

Harake³

et al. 2021

JMIR Ment Health

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Background Loneliness is a growing area of concern, attracting attention as a public health concern due to its association with a variety of psychological and physical health problems. However, interventions targeting loneliness are less common than interventions for other mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, and existing interventions focus primarily on building social skills and increasing opportunities for social interaction despite research suggesting these techniques are not the most effective. Furthermore, although there is an increasing need for scalable and convenient interventions, digital interventions for loneliness are even less common. Objective Using a qualitative approach, we explore how adults (18-64 years of age) who express wanting to be more connected to others experience loneliness and react to a digital mental health intervention targeting loneliness. Methods A total of 11 participants were recruited from a pilot randomized controlled trial exploring the impact of a digital mental health intervention, Happify Health, on loneliness among adults aged 18-64 years who indicated wanting to feel more connected to others when signing up for the platform. Participants were invited to participate in a 3-day asynchronous focus group about their experiences with loneliness, with Happify Health, and with social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. All 11 participants completed the focus group in May 2020. Results Participants’ responses were coded using thematic analysis, which led to identifying five themes, each with separate subthemes, that could be applied across the 3-day focus group: loneliness, relationships, social distancing, skill acquisition, and coping. Overall, we observed variability across participants in terms of the source of their loneliness, their perceptions of their social connections, and their motivation to reduce feelings of loneliness; however, participants commonly referred to negative self-perceptions as a cause or consequence of loneliness. Participants also varied in the extent to which they felt social distancing increased or decreased feelings of loneliness. In regard to the intervention, participants showed evidence of adopting skills they used to address their loneliness, particularly mindfulness and gratitude, and then using these skills to shift toward more active coping strategies following the intervention, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions The heterogeneity in participants’ experiences with loneliness described during this focus group emphasizes the subjective and complex nature of loneliness. This highlights the importance of developing loneliness interventions that use a variety of strategies, including both direct and indirect strategies for reducing loneliness. However, based on our data, a key component to loneliness interventions is incorporating strategies for addressing underlying negative self-perceptions that stem from, but also contribute to, loneliness. This data also provides preliminary evidence that digital platforms may be an effective tool for disseminating loneliness interventions while providing the added benefit of offering a productive distraction when feeling lonely.

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Has loneliness increased during COVID-19? Comment on “Loneliness: A signature mental health concern in the era of COVID-19”

Cited by 30 publications

References 5 publications

Loneliness, Mental Health, and Substance Use among US Young Adults during COVID-19

Loneliness, Mental Health, and Substance Use among US Young Adults during COVID-19

Loneliness among Middle-Aged and Older Middle-Aged Adults in Russia (Saint Petersburg) before and during COVID-19 Pandemic

The Impact of a Digital Intervention (Happify) on Loneliness During COVID-19: Qualitative Focus Group

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