Short-term changes in behaviors resulting from COVID-19-related social isolation and their influences on mental health

Abstract

Withdrawing from social activities abruptly can be associated with anxiety and mental health struggles, but this behavior is unavoidable when an infectious disease such as Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading. With many governments taking to social distancing protocols, short-term changes in behaviors and their influences on health are expected. This study adopted a correlational research approach to assess the behavioral outcomes of the social distancing protocols and its influences on mental health. An online survey hosted by Survey Monkey was utilized to collect data from residents of three cities under a COVID-19 mandatory lockdown. A total of 621 surveys were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analysis, with a sensitivity analysis utilized to select potential covariates for the final regression model. Findings indicate that reduced physical activity time, increased sedentary behavior time, and a change in sexual activity and smoking frequency are some short-term changes in behavior resulting from social isolation during the lockdown. An increase in sedentary behavior made a negative influence on mental health (β = -0.85; t = -46.76, p = 0.000). The only change in behavior that has a positive influence on mental health is substance use. For the most part, changes in behaviors in the short-term attributable to COVID-19 social isolation were associated with lower mental health scores. Our findings imply that COVID-19 social distancing measures should be rolled out alongside public education programs for discouraging unhealthy changes in behaviors.

Domestic Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

“…Thus, 588 articles were screened by abstract with 436 being irrelevant while 75 were reviews. Of 77 full-text articles that were assessed for eligibility, 32 studies were finally included (Armbruster & Klotzbu ¨cher, 2020;Asiamah et al, 2021;Baron et al, 2020;Beland et al, 2020;Biddle et al, 2020;Boserup et al, 2020;Brown et al, 2020;Bru ¨lhart & Lalive, 2020;Davis et al, 2020;Foster & Fletcher, 2020;Frank et al, 2020;Halford et al, 2020;Huber, 2020;Iob et al, 2020;Jung et al, 2020;Knipe et al, 2020;Leslie & Wilson, 2020;McLay, 2021;Mohler et al, 2020;Nduna & Oyama, 2020;Nguyen et al, 2020;Payne et al, 2020;Pfitzner et al, 2020;Piquero et al, 2020;Roca et al, 2020;Sanga & McCrary, 2020;Sibley et al, 2020;Sidpra et al, 2020;Silverio-Murillo et al, 2020;Stiegler & Bouchad, 2020;Wright et al, 2020aWright et al, , 2020b; Figure 1, flowchart; Table 1). Among them, two presented data from various countries worldwide (Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, France, India, Lebanon, Mexico, Montenegro, Singapore, Spain, United States, United Kingdom, Italy, and worldwide estimation of child abuse violence based on data from previous years), 11 referred to North America countries (United States: n ¼ 9, Canada: n ¼ 1, and Mexico: n ¼ 1), 10 to Europe (United Kingdom: n ¼ 6, Germany: n ¼ 2, Switzerland: n ¼ 1, ...…”

“…The majority of studies were conducted during COVID-19 lockdown (Asiamah et al, 2021;Beland et al, 2020;Biddle et al, 2020;Brown et al, 2020;Bru ¨lhart & Lalive, 2020;Davis et al, 2020;Frank et al, 2020;Halford et al, 2020;Iob et al, 2020;Jung et al, 2020;Leslie & Wilson, 2020;Nduna & Oyama, 2020;Payne et al, 2020;Pfitzner et al, 2020;Roca Sibley et al, 2020;Sidpra et al, 2020;Silverio-Murillo et al, 2020;Stiegler & Bouchad, 2020), approximately between March and May 2020, while a few were conducted during COVID-19 outbreak (Armbruster & Klotzbu ¨cher, 2020;Baron et al, 2020;Boserup et al, 2020;Foster & Fletcher, 2020;Huber, 2020;Knipe et al, 2020;McLay, 2021;Mohler et al, 2020;Nguyen et al, 2020;Piquero et al, 2020;Sanga & McCrary, 2020;Wright et al, 2020aWright et al, , 2020b. Moreover, many studies included data from police or helplines reports (eight studies based on police records (Boserup et al, 2020;Halford et al, 2020;Leslie & Wilson, 2020;McLay, 2021;Mohler et al, 2020;Payne et al, 2020;…”

The impact of sitting time and physical activity on mental health during COVID-19 lockdown

“…Most studies have focused on COVID-19 restrictions and the effect of physical activity on mental health [ 27 , 27 , 31 ], while some have highlighted the importance of sedentary behaviour [ 29 , 58 , 59 ]. Studies have noticed an increase in sedentary behaviour compared to pre-pandemic [ 29 , 60 ], with some studies showing that prolonged sitting (more than 10 h day −1 ) was associated with depressive symptoms [ 61 ].…”

Health knowledge and non-pharmaceutical interventions during the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa

“…Stress was in the top three of all reported effects in the other two countries. 9 An online poll similarly found increases in reported stress during the lockdown period in Ghana ( Asiamah et al. (2020) ).…”

“…Stress was the most common e↵ect of the pandemic in Ghana, and in the top three of all reported e↵ects in the other two countries. An online poll similarly found increases in reported stress during the lockdown period in Ghana (Asiamah et al 2020). Reduction of income was the most common e↵ect of the pandemic in Malawi, and was also frequently mentioned in the other countries.…”