Winter is coming: age and early psychological concomitants of the Covid-19 pandemic in England

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate early psychological concomitants of the Covid-19 pandemic in England on a sample of younger and older people. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional quantitative questionnaire (n = 1608) was conducted on the Prolific website. Participants completed the PERMA Scale (Flourishing), the four Office of National Statistics (ONS4) Well-being Questions, the Clinical Outcomes Measure in Routine Evaluation (CORE-10) and the short University of California Los Angeles Brief Loneliness Scale. Findings Data were gathered on March 18, 2020, near the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. This study looks at the effects of the developing pandemic on younger participants (18 to 25 years, n = 391) and older participants (60 to 80 years, n = 104). Flourishing levels for older participants were significantly higher (M = 107.96) than for younger participants (M = 97.80). Younger participants scored significantly higher on the ONS4 for anxiety and lower than the older participants for happiness, life satisfaction and having a worthwhile life. Levels of psychological distress (CORE-10) were also significantly lower for older participants (M = 9.06) than for younger participants (M = 14.61). Finally, younger participants scored significantly higher on the Brief UCLA Loneliness Scale (M = 6.05) than older participants (M = 4.64). Research limitations/implications From these findings, the Covid-19 pandemic was having a significantly greater effect on younger people in England, less than one week before the UK went into “lockdown”. Scores for both the Younger and Older groups on all the study measures were worse than normative comparisons. The study had no specific measure of Covid-19 anxiety, but nor was one available at the time of the survey. Practical implications This study suggests that younger people (18 to 25) may be a more vulnerable group during the Covid-19 pandemic than many may have realized. Social implications As a recent British Psychological Society report concluded, there is a lot of untapped wisdom amongst older groups in society. Originality/value This is one of the earliest studies to look at psychological distress before England went into “lockdown.”

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Older Adults: Rapid Review

“…Older adults reported a presence or worsening of psychological symptoms, and greater loneliness because of pandemic-related social isolation [ 33 , 38 , 47 , 49 , 51 , 52 , 56 , 57 , 62 , 63 , 77 , 78 , 84 , 89 , 90 , 99 , 105 , 114 , 117 , 128 , 135 , 139 , 140 , 148 , 156 , 160 ]. Compared to younger age, older age (ie, ≥60 years) was, however, associated with fewer psychological symptoms [ 39 , 44 , 50 , 54 , 57 , 59 , 64 - 67 , 74 , 77 , 89 , 95 , 97 , 98 , 101 , 107 , 109 , 111 , 114 , 116 , 120 , 121 , 124 , 125 , 127 , 136 , 138 , 147 , 151 , 153 , 157 , 158 , 161 , 162 , 165 ], lower loneliness [ 92 , 95 , …”

“…Older adults reported a presence or worsening of psychological symptoms, and greater loneliness because of pandemic-related social isolation [33,38,47 [92,95,104,130,140,159], and better mental health and well-being [95,106,126,157,161,162]. Older adults were also shown to be better at regulating their emotions and coping with stressful events [44,61,68].…”

“…,49,51,52,56,57,62,63,77,78, 84,89,90,99,105,114,117,128,135,139,140,148,156,160]. Compared to younger age, older age (ie, ≥60 years) was, however, associated with fewer psychological symptoms[39,44,50,54,57,59,[64][65][66][67]74,77,89,95,97,98,101,107,109,111,114,116,120,121,124,125,127,136,138,147,151,153,157,158,161,162,165], lower loneliness…”

Hitting Close to Home: The Effect of COVID-19 Illness in the Social Environment on Psychological Burden in Older Adults

“…This group has been, and continuous to be, considered at risk for severe illness and mortality from COVID-19 infection ( Shahid et al, 2020 ; Gerwen et al, 2021 ) and therefore has had to incorporate changes into their day to day life. Health policies have targeted older people in asking them to isolate and physically distance to avoid infection which, although successful in protecting from the virus, have had negative consequences of their own: Increased subjective social isolation ( Peng and Roth, 2021 ), lower healthcare utilization ( Ksinan Jiskrova et al, 2021 ), reduction of physical activities ( Creese et al, 2020 ; Brown et al, 2021 ), and social interaction ( Richter and Heidinger, 2020 ; Heid et al, 2021 ) as well as the ever increasing problem of loneliness ( Carson et al, 2020 ; Entringer et al, 2020 ; Heidinger and Richter, 2020 ; Luchetti et al, 2020 ; Stolz et al, 2020 ; Krendl and Perry, 2021 ) have been reported as byproducts of COVID-19 safety measures. As these lifestyle changes have been previously linked to adverse mental health outcomes, it is not surprising that an increase in depression, anxiety and stress symptoms, and a general decline of mental health during the pandemic ( Shahid et al, 2020 ; Gerwen et al, 2021 ) have been noted in multiple studies ( Banks and Xu, 2020 ; Bailey et al, 2021 ; De Pue et al, 2021 ; Grolli et al, 2021 ; Tsoukalis-Chaikalis et al, 2021 ).…”

“…As these lifestyle changes have been previously linked to adverse mental health outcomes, it is not surprising that an increase in depression, anxiety and stress symptoms, and a general decline of mental health during the pandemic ( Shahid et al, 2020 ; Gerwen et al, 2021 ) have been noted in multiple studies ( Banks and Xu, 2020 ; Bailey et al, 2021 ; De Pue et al, 2021 ; Grolli et al, 2021 ; Tsoukalis-Chaikalis et al, 2021 ). These issues seem to be greater in younger population cohorts ( Banks and Xu, 2020 ; Carson et al, 2020 ) but have been found to be universal among (western) populations.…”