Increases in Loneliness Among Young Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Association With Increases in Mental Health Problems

Lee, Christine M.; Cadigan, Jennifer M.; Rhew, Isaac C.

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.08.009

Cited by 419 publications

(425 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Furthermore, the demographic factors gender, having children, marital status, living space, and current health condition contributed statistically signi cantly to lower mental health in our study sample. Women had lower mental health than men in this study, which is in line with other COVID-19 studies of mental health in women [12,18,19,21]. Females' sense of identity in activities is more affected by the social connections formed rather than by other aspects in the activity setting [80].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Several mental health studies in COVID-19 found associations between demographical characteristics and mental health. It seems that younger ages (< 30 years, inclusive students [18,19]) [12,[20][21][22][23][24], women [12,18,19,21,25], healthcare workers [12,20], unemployed people [18], adults who have children [26,27], living rural [28], having cancer or chronic diseases [22] and living alone [22] are at highest risk to develop mental health problems such as anxiety or depression during the COVID-19 crisis.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This may be especially true for adults who are undergoing a critical time of interpersonal development, education, family development and career building. For instance, young adults are at high risk for mental health problems as they reported elevated loneliness and depression even after the rst ve months of exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic [21].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Meaningful Activities During COVID-19 and Association With Mental Health in Belgian Adults.

Cruyt

Vriendt

Velde

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: The spread of COVID-19 has affected people’s daily lives and the lockdown may have led to a disruption of daily activities and a decrease of people’s mental health. Aim: To identify correlates of adults’ mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown in Belgium and to assess the role of meaningful activities in particular. Methods: A cross-sectional web survey for assessing mental health (General Health Questionnaire), resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale), meaning in activities (Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey) and demographics was conducted between April 24 and May 4, 2020. Hierarchical linear regression was used to identify key correlates. Results: Participants (N=1781) reported low mental health (M=14.85/36). In total, 42.4% of the variance in mental health could be explained by variables such as gender, having children, living space, marital status, health condition, and resilience (β= -.33). Loss of meaningful activities was strongly related to mental health (β= -.36) and explained 9% incremental variance (R2 change= .092, p<.001) above control variables.Conclusions: The extent of performing meaningful activities during the COVID-19 lockdown in Belgium is positively related to adults’ mental health. Insights from this study can be taken into account during future lockdown measures in case of pandemics.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

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confidence: 99%

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Meaningful Activities During COVID-19 and Association With Mental Health in Belgian Adults.

Cruyt

Vriendt

Velde

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…A study by McGinty et al (2020) reported only a slight increase in loneliness during current events as compared with a survey conducted in 2018. At the same time, other research reveals a significant increase in declared loneliness after introducing stay-at-home policies (Killgore et al, 2020a,b), especially in the vulnerable groups (Bu et al, 2020) and young adults (Lee et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Safe but Lonely? Loneliness, Anxiety, and Depression Symptoms and COVID-19

et al. 2020

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BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has led governments worldwide to implement unprecedented response strategies. While crucial to limiting the spread of the virus, “social distancing” may lead to severe psychological consequences, especially in lonely individuals.MethodsWe used cross-sectional (n = 380) and longitudinal (n = 74) designs to investigate the links between loneliness, anxiety, and depression symptoms (ADS) and COVID-19 risk perception and affective response in young adults who implemented social distancing during the first 2 weeks of the state of epidemic threat in Poland.ResultsLoneliness was correlated with ADS and with affective response to COVID-19’s threat to health. However, increased worry about the social isolation and heightened risk perception for financial problems was observed in lonelier individuals. The cross-lagged influence of the initial affective response to COVID-19 on subsequent levels of loneliness was also found.ConclusionThe reciprocal connections between loneliness and COVID-19 response may be of crucial importance for ADS during the COVID-19 crisis.

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“…These include reduced levels of physical activity [ 1 , 2 ], poorer diet [ 3 ], and an increased prevalence of sleep problems [ 4 ]. Various psychosocial consequences of lockdown have also been reported, including higher rates of loneliness [ 5 , 6 ], less social cohesion (particularly in deprived communities) [ 7 ], more mental health difficulties, and a decrease in psychological wellbeing [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Potentially positive consequences of lockdown have also been described; for instance, studies of adults in Egypt, India, and the US report a moderate increase in perceived social support during lockdown [ 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Change in Physical Activity, Sleep Quality, and Psychosocial Variables during COVID-19 Lockdown: Evidence from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

Okely

Corley

Welstead

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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(1) Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected the lives of older people. In this study, we examine changes in physical activity, sleep quality, and psychosocial variables among older people during COVID-19 lockdown. We build on cross-sectional studies on this topic by assessing change longitudinally. We also examined whether participant characteristics including demographic, cognitive, personality, and health variables were related to more positive or negative changes during lockdown. (2) Methods: 137 older participants (mean age 84 years) from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 study were included in the analysis. They completed the same questionnaires assessing physical activity, sleep quality, mental wellbeing, social support, loneliness, neighbourhood cohesion, and memory problems before (mostly 2 years earlier) and again during national lockdown. (3) Results: On average, levels of physical activity were reduced (those doing minimal physical activity increased from 10% to 19%) and perceived social support increased during lockdown (effect size drm = 0.178). More positive change in the psychosocial and behavioural outcome variables during lockdown was associated with personality traits (greater intellect, emotional stability, and extraversion) and having a higher general cognitive ability. Participants with a history of cardiovascular disease, more symptoms of anxiety, or who lived alone were more likely to experience negative changes in the outcome variables during lockdown. (4) Discussion: These results provide further insight into the experiences of older people during the COVID-19 pandemic and could help to identify those at greatest risk of negative psychosocial or behavioural changes during this time.

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Increases in Loneliness Among Young Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Association With Increases in Mental Health Problems

Cited by 419 publications

References 11 publications

Meaningful Activities During COVID-19 and Association With Mental Health in Belgian Adults.

Meaningful Activities During COVID-19 and Association With Mental Health in Belgian Adults.

Safe but Lonely? Loneliness, Anxiety, and Depression Symptoms and COVID-19

Change in Physical Activity, Sleep Quality, and Psychosocial Variables during COVID-19 Lockdown: Evidence from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

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