Loneliness: A signature mental health concern in the era of COVID-19

Killgore, William D.S.; Cloonan, Sara; Taylor, Emily C.; Dailey, Natalie S.

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113117

Cited by 787 publications

(814 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Awe could be construed as a critically beneficial emotion to strengthen connections with the rest of humanity and the physical world. In rapidly changing circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic, social connections are key to mitigating the social and psychological consequences of new public policy measures (e.g., Brooks et al, 2020;Fiorillo & Gorwood, 2020;Killgore et al, 2020;Usher et al, 2020). The lockdowns may produce novel experiences of awe and opportunities to transcend the self in the consideration of the common good; such a capacity may be critical to the challenges imposed by the pandemic.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Awe and the interconnected self

Chen

Mongrain

2020

The Journal of Positive Psychology

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Awe is a self-expansive emotion, where the boundaries of a separate self are transcended to process a larger, complex reality. The current review integrates the existing scholarship on awe including the benefits, individual differences, and neuroanatomical correlates of the emotion. We also identify the attentional antecedents to awe experiences, the states and traits that may support or create barriers to experiences of the emotion, and theoretically guided methods to allow the emotion to be accessible in day-today life. We argue that awe may promote prosocial instincts through the recognition of one's place in a vast interconnected world and be particularly beneficial in this age of rapid technological progress and social unrest.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Awe and the interconnected self

Chen

Mongrain

2020

The Journal of Positive Psychology

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“…Recent evidence in the context of COVID-19 reports high levels of distress and loneliness in US regions with quarantine or shelter-in-place guidelines [35][36][37][38]. In the UK, 36% of respondents reported feeling sometimes or often lonely during COVID-19 [39], and Bu et al, [40] found that prevalence of severe loneliness was 14% and remained relatively stable over 6 weeks of lockdown.…”

Section: Risk Factors For Lonelinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies have found that more frequent in-person contact mitigates the impact of the pandemic on loneliness [37,38], and that living with others, larger social network size, and greater social support are protective factors [40]. Furthermore loneliness in the current pandemic context is associated with increased depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation in the US [36,43], and with greater depression, anxiety, and stress in the UK [44]. In Poland, loneliness had a negative impact on mental health symptoms and increased participants' affective response to aspects of the COVID-19 crisis [42].…”

Section: Risk Factors For Lonelinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Loneliness in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-sectional results from the COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing Study

et al. 2020

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Objectives Loneliness is a significant public health issue. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in lockdown measures limiting social contact. The UK public are worried about the impact of these measures on mental health outcomes. Understanding the prevalence and predictors of loneliness at this time is a priority issue for research. Method The study employed a cross-sectional online survey design. Baseline data collected between March 23rd and April 24th 2020 from UK adults in the COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing Study were analysed (N = 1964, 18-87 years, M = 37.11, SD = 12.86, 70% female). Logistic regression analysis examined the influence of sociodemographic, social, health and COVID-19 specific factors on loneliness. Results The prevalence of loneliness was 27% (530/1964). Risk factors for loneliness were younger age group (OR: 4.67-5.31), being separated or divorced (OR: 2.29), scores meeting clinical criteria for depression (OR: 1.74), greater emotion regulation difficulties (OR: 1.04), and poor quality sleep due to the COVID-19 crisis (OR: 1.30). Higher levels of social support (OR: 0.92), being married/co-habiting (OR: 0.35) and living with a greater number of adults (OR: 0.87) were protective factors. Conclusions Rates of loneliness during the initial phase of lockdown were high. Risk factors were not specific to the COVID-19 crisis. Findings suggest that supportive interventions to reduce loneliness should prioritise younger people and those with mental health symptoms. Improving emotion regulation and sleep quality, and increasing social support may be optimal initial targets to reduce the impact of COVID-19 regulations on mental health outcomes.

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“…Loneliness and social isolation are becoming increasingly recognized as serious public health concerns, with effects on both mental and physical health [ 1 , 2 ]. Especially during the (present) world-wide COVID-19 pandemic with the resulting lockdowns and social distancing regulations, loneliness and social isolation pose particularly urgent problems for a large part of the population [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Research suggests that feelings of connectedness are a better predictor of a number of health outcomes than the mere number of social contacts [ 6 ], suggesting that feelings of connectedness can play a key role in maintaining good (mental) health when social distancing is required.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeling Connected after Experiencing Digital Nature: A Survey Study

Houwelingen-Snippe

Rompay

Allouch

2020

IJERPH

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Digital nature can provide a substitute for real nature for those who have limited access to green space, or are confined to their homes, for example during the worldwide COVID-19 lockdown. In a large-scale online survey, respondents (N = 1203) watched videos of digital nature, varying in terms of type of nature (wild versus tended nature) and spaciousness. Results show a significant increase of feelings of connectedness to the community after watching digital nature. Furthermore, tended nature scenes elicited more social aspirations than wild nature scenes. A multiple regression model further shows that living further away from nature was a significant predictor for loneliness scores, while number of nature interactions during a week was not. Results of this study confirm the importance of nature interaction for mental and social wellbeing for the general population and stress the potential of digital nature as a complementary strategy. These findings are of particular relevance to those who lack access to nature due to old age and related mobility constraints or a lockdown.

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Loneliness: A signature mental health concern in the era of COVID-19

Cited by 787 publications

References 6 publications

Awe and the interconnected self

Awe and the interconnected self

Loneliness in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-sectional results from the COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing Study

Feeling Connected after Experiencing Digital Nature: A Survey Study

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