ArticleScientific reports2022
Affective touch perception and longing for touch during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in Scientific reports, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Vicarious Touch: A Potential Substitute for Social Touch During Touch Deprivation.European journal of social psychology · 2026Article
- The (un-)Social Brain in Isolation.Physiological research · 2025Review
- Newly validated touch experiences and attitudes questionnaire in German (TEAQ-G) is linked to social functioning, mental health, and hormonal stress regulation.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Infectious touching: Has COVID-19 changed our perceptions of social touch? A neural and behavioural study.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
- Can impersonal touch replace interpersonal touch? An investigation using the rubber hand illusion.PloS one · 2025Article
- Making space for grief: The impact of remembrance programs for pediatric healthcare providers.Palliative & supportive care · 2024Article
- Review
- Article
- Sleep, Mental Health, and the Need for Physical and Real-Life Social Contact with (Non-)Family Members during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Bayesian Network Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Propensity to trust shapes perceptions of comforting touch between trustworthy human and robot partners.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Individual Differences on Wellbeing Indices during the COVID-19 Quarantine in Greece: A National Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Longing for touch post-COVID-19: current observations and future directions.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Autistic Traits Related to the Importance of Interpersonal Touch and Appreciation of Observed Touch during COVID-19 Social Distancing.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Affectionate touch and diurnal oxytocin levels: An ecological momentary assessment study.eLife · 2023Article
- Positive Touch Deprivation during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Effects on Anxiety, Stress, and Depression among Italian General Population.Brain sciences · 2023Article
- Longing for Touch and Quality of Life during the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Tactile Biography Questionnaire: A contribution to its validation in an Italian sample.PloS one · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Interpersonal touch and affective touch play a crucial role in social interactions and have a positive influence on mental health. The social distancing regulations implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic have reduced the ability to engage in interpersonal touch. This could cause longing for touch, and it might subsequently alter the way in which affective touch is perceived. To investigate this, we conducted an online survey and included 1982 participants, which contained questions regarding the COVID-19 regulations, longing for touch, and the perceived pleasantness of affective and non-affective touch. Results showed that participants reported feelings of longing for touch. This significantly increased with the duration and severity of the COVID-19 regulations. In addition, participants who experienced more longing for touch rated videos of affective and non-affective touch as more pleasant. Current results provide insight in the impact of sudden and prolonged COVID-19 regulations and show that increasing the duration and severity of these regulations is associated with a higher desire for touch, which is associated with increased perceived pleasantness of observing touch.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.