Loneliness, but not social distancing, is associated with the incidence of suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 outbreak: a longitudinal study

Salgado, Thyago Antonelli; Monteiro, Gabriela Massaro Carneiro; Marcon, Grasiela; Roza, Thiago Henrique; Zimerman, André; Hoffmann, Maurício Scopel; Cao, Bo; Hauck, Simone; Brunoni, André R.; Passos, Ives Cavalcante

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2021.04.044

Cited by 59 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Thus, individuals with a medical condition may have experienced a greater level of health and social support than others during this time. Self-isolation itself did not contribute to loneliness in either model in the current study, which may reflect the distinction made between physical isolation and feelings of isolation in the literature surrounding loneliness during the pandemic (56). Lewis (57) found that in-person interactions during this time had no impact on feelings of loneliness, whilst virtual contact was negatively associated with loneliness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 45%

The Long-Term Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness in People Living With Disability and Visual Impairment

Heinze¹,

Hussain²,

Castle³

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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Background: There has been growing concern about the impact of restrictions put in place to contain the coronavirus pandemic on loneliness, particularly in individuals with disabilities. This study explored the longitudinal impact of the pandemic on loneliness in these individuals, with a focus on those living with visual impairment (VI).Methods: An online survey was conducted in April-2020 and repeated in March 2021 to explore current life circumstances, health-related behaviours, sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) and social well-being, including state anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Index) and loneliness (UCLA Loneliness scale). A convenience sample of 602 participants completed the first survey. Participants who agreed to be re-contacted were invited to take part in the follow-up survey.Results: Data is presented for the 160 participants who completed both timepoints. At both timepoints, median loneliness was significantly higher in participants with disabilities and those with VI than in participants with no disabilities. While there was no significant change in loneliness in any of the three subgroups, participants with VI experienced the largest increase in median loneliness. Loneliness was associated with having a mental health condition and higher levels of state anxiety at both timepoints.Conclusions: Individuals with disabilities such as VI experienced consistently higher levels of loneliness than those with no disabilities throughout the pandemic. While loneliness remained relatively stable in individuals with no disabilities, it increased, albeit to a non-significant level, in those with disabilities and particularly those with VI. Interventions designed to alleviate loneliness may benefit from addressing state anxiety.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 45%

The Long-Term Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness in People Living With Disability and Visual Impairment

Heinze¹,

Hussain²,

Castle³

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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“…The findings are generally consistent with previous studies in Western countries that reported deterioration in mental health and well-being [ 2 , 4 – 7 ]. A previous study also reported that loneliness was associated with a higher incidence of suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 41 ]. In Japan, unlike some US states and European countries, strong legal restrictions such as a complete “lockdown” have not been enacted thus far.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Declines in health literacy and health-related quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study of the Japanese general population

2021

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Background During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the importance of health literacy (HL) was addressed by public health researchers. We longitudinally examined the changes in general HL and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) between immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak and 1 year later, and how general HL before the outbreak was related to changes in HRQOL in the Japanese general population. Methods Among the Japanese residents aged 20–79 years who participated in our previous study in 2017, 826 were followed-up via self-administered questionnaires in January 2020 and February 2021, for the purposes of this study. The HRQOL was measured using the SF-8, a short version of the SF-36 Health Survey, and general HL was measured using the short form of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HL-SF12) in the 2020 and 2021 surveys. Results The physical and mental dimensions of HRQOL as well as general HL declined significantly from immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak to 1 year later (p = .010, p < .001 and p < .001, respectively). The decline in HRQOL, especially the mental dimension, was more significant among women. A lower economic status was also related to a greater decline in HRQOL (p = .026 for the physical dimension and p = .012 for the mental dimension). Higher general HL before the COVID-19 outbreak was associated with a lesser decline in HRQOL in both the physical and mental dimensions (p = .040 and p < .001, respectively) after controlling for possible confounding variables such as gender and economic status. Conclusions Healthcare support is crucial for vulnerable populations during and after the pandemic. General HL may be important for attenuating the decline in HRQOL, by enabling effective use of health information and adaptive behaviors toward health threats. Further studies are needed to better understand the association between HL and HRQOL.

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“…In students' lives, the university period is chock full of transition, and adaptation can be a time of vulnerability to loneliness (Richardson et al, 2017). In turn, loneliness can be a risk factor for anxiety, symptoms of depression, suicidal thoughts, and other psychopathologies (Antonelli-Salgado et al, 2021;McQuaid et al, 2021). Thus, understanding loneliness due to social distancing is crucial to good mental health and well-being (Horesh et al, 2020).…”

Section: Psychological Research On Urban Societymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship Between Stress and Well-being: The Mediating Roles of Students’ Psychological Flexibility and Loneliness During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Indra¹,

Radyani²,

Oriza³

2021

PROUST

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) has greatly impacted people‘s lives, including those of students in higher education, who have experienced drastic changes causing high levels of stress and decreased well-being. The relationship between stress and well-being can be viewed through the lens of psychological flexibility and loneliness. Individuals who experience high stress tend to be psychologically inflexible and have avoidant/maladaptive coping strategies. As a result, they are also vulnerable to loneliness, which ultimately results in decreased in well-being. In this study, of 945 student-participants, 43.28% met the criterion for high loneliness, 21.9% reported high perceived stress, 69.8% reflected high psychological inflexibility, and their mean score for well-being was 54.45. Serial mediation analysis found that psychological flexibility and loneliness partially mediate the relationship between stress and well-being. However, stress can affect well-being directly but also indirectly through psychological inflexibility and loneliness. A high level of stress, with a low level of psychological flexibility, results in a high level of loneliness; hence well-being decreases. Interventions promoting psychological flexibility can help individuals adapt and cope with difficult situations during the pandemic.

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Loneliness, but not social distancing, is associated with the incidence of suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 outbreak: a longitudinal study

Cited by 59 publications

References 57 publications

The Long-Term Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness in People Living With Disability and Visual Impairment

The Long-Term Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness in People Living With Disability and Visual Impairment

Declines in health literacy and health-related quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study of the Japanese general population

The Relationship Between Stress and Well-being: The Mediating Roles of Students’ Psychological Flexibility and Loneliness During the Coronavirus Pandemic

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