The Trajectory of Loneliness in Response to COVID-19

By Martina Luchetti, Ji Hyun Lee, Damaris Aschwanden, Amanda A. Sesker, Jason E. Strickhouser, Antonio Terracciano, A. Sutin. American Psychologist, 2020

762 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Social distancing and ‘stay-at-home’ orders are essential to contain the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19), but there is concern that these measures will increase feelings of loneliness, particularly in vulnerable groups. The present study examined change in loneliness in response to the social restriction measures taken to control the coronavirus spread. A nation-wide sample of American adults (N = 1,545; 45% women; age 18 to 98, M = 53.68, SD = 15.63) was assessed on three occasions: in late-January/early-February 2020 (before the outbreak), in late-March (during the President’s initial ‘15 Days to Slow the Spread’ campaign), and in late-April (during the ‘stay-at-home’ policies of most states). Contrary to expectations, there were no significant mean-level changes in loneliness across the three assessments (d = .04, p > .05). In fact, respondents perceived increased support from others over the follow-up period (d = .19, p < .01). Older adults reported less loneliness overall compared to younger age groups but had an increase in loneliness during the acute phase of the outbreak (d = .14, p <.05). Their loneliness, however, leveled off after the issuance of stay-at-home orders. Individuals living alone and those with at least one chronic condition reported feeling lonelier at baseline but did not increase in loneliness during the implementation of social distancing measures. Despite some detrimental impact on vulnerable individuals, in the present sample, there was no large increase in loneliness but remarkable resilience in response to COVID-19.

Subfields: Clinical Psychology, Health, Social Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/c656d5586de8691b98a86f6fe59baf8faa046551

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Clinical Psychology

1. E. McGlinchey
2. P. McKenna-Plumley
3. Cherie Armour
4. L. Graham-Wisener
5. Emma Berry
6. J. Groarke

In Health

1. Nicola Perra

In Social Psychology

1. J. Groarke

Citations in the corpus

• Non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A review (2020, background): “Furthermore, loneliness increases more for those reporting greater concerns about the pandemic. owever, it is important to notice that while two surveys found an increase of loneliness during the first wave [172,174], nother reported no significant variations from January to April [164].”
• Loneliness in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-sectional results from the COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing Study (2020, background): “There is emerging evidence from the US suggesting that levels of loneliness are high but stable during the COVID-19 pandemic [71].”
• Loneliness and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study Among Dutch Older Adults (2020, neutral): “Luchetti et al. (2020) collected data from adults living in the United States around the beginning of February 2020, the end of March and the end of April.”