Longitudinal Correlates of Loneliness and Psychological Distress During the Lockdown Situation due to COVID-19. Effects of Age and Self-Perceptions of Aging

Abstract

Objectives To longitudinally analyze the correlates of loneliness and psychological distress in people exposed to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown, exploring the effects of age and self-perceptions of aging (SPA). Methods A longitudinal follow-up of 1,549 participants was carried out at four different time points during the lockdown in Spain. Questions about the risk of COVID-19, age, SPA, family and personal resources, loneliness, and psychological distress were measured. Results Changes in loneliness showed a linear longitudinal trajectory through time, but changes in psychological distress showed a U-shaped relationship with time. Age was a relevant predictor of differences in distress, with older people reporting less psychological distress. Change in both dependent variables was related to change in different predictors like family and personal variables and also to negative SPA. Discussion In a stressful situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults may be more resilient to adverse mental health outcomes by using more adaptive resources that strengthen their resilience. Support is provided for the importance of stereotyped views of the aging process that, independently of chronological age, may put people at risk of suffering adverse mental health outcomes such as loneliness and psychological distress in times of crisis.

Levels and variables associated with psychological distress during confinement due to the coronavirus pandemic in a community sample of Spanish adults

“…In other words, adults confined during the quarantine in Spain who showed higher levels of distress also showed negative affect, perceived higher levels of pain, sleep problems, and suppression of their emotions during the assessed period. These results support recent work on distress due to COVID-19, with relationships found between distress, sleep disturbances, negative affect, sleep problems (Losada-Baltar et al, 2020), and levels of pain (Wang et al, 2020). However, to our knowledge, studies focused on COVID-19 have not explored the role of certain emotion regulation strategies, such as cognitive reappraisal or emotional suppression, in psychological reactions to a pandemic and to confinement.…”

“…Moreover, levels of distress were higher, and sleep quality was lower in people living alone. In the same direction, loneliness has been strongly related to depression anxiety, PTSD, and distress during the pandemic (González-Sanguino et al, 2020;Losada-Baltar et al, 2020;Mazza et al, 2020), and in general, low social support and thwarted belongingness have been broadly related to depression and suicide ideation (Joiner, 2006;Klonsky & May, 2015).…”

“…The authors found moderate to extremely severe levels of anxiety, depression, and stress in 21.34%, 34.19%, and 28.14% of the respondents, respectively, and a total of 50.43% referred to a moderate to severe impact. Similarly, Losada-Baltar et al (2020) carried out a study with 1,310 Spanish people (age range: 18-88 years) during a lock-down period at home, and they found that some of the factors associated with higher distress were being female, younger, more time exposed to news about COVID-19, more contact with relatives different from those they live with, lower sleep quality, and greater loneliness. Vicario-Merino and Munoz-Agustin (2020) found, in 147 Spanish adults, that stress and anxiety levels increased in relation to age, level of responsibilities, and worry about economic loss.…”

A review on the COVID-19-related psychological impact on older adults: vulnerable or not?

“…Research during the pandemic indicated that although older adults may express more pronounced fear of COVID-19, possibly related with the mass media announcements about their higher risk for severe illness and increased COVID-19-related mortality, generalised anxiety symptoms may decrease with age [ 51 ]. In addition, older age was related with less depressive symptoms [ 52 ] and psychological distress [ 53 ]. Furthermore, there was no evidence that older old adults (71–80 years) show a poorer psychological wellbeing during the pandemic, compared with younger old adults [ 54 ].…”

“…Older people are more likely to have experienced both individual traumatic events and collective traumas, such as war, dictatorship [ 38 ], financial crises and natural disasters [ 59 ]. As such, they may be able to consider the current pandemic in a broader context, relativising its impact and show higher resilience against the COVID-19-related adverse mental health outcomes using adaptive resources [ 42 , 53 , 60 , 61 ]. Furthermore, most studies were conducted during the acute phase of the pandemic.…”