ArticlePloS one2022
Loneliness during COVID-19: Development and influencing factors.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 70 citations in OpenAlex.
- Are quantitative targets for social network size and interaction frequency appropriate for public health guidelines on social connection? Evidence from loneliness and related mental health outcomes.SSM - population health · 2026Article
- Factors Modulating the Effects of Juvenile Social Isolation on Adult Social Behavior in Rodents.Developmental psychobiology · 2026Review
- Analysing comfort with primary care discussions and openness to social prescribing as mediators of the associations between loneliness and wellbeing among Canadians aged 55 and older.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Loneliness as a Key Factor in Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms among Vietnamese Migrants in Japan during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Study.JMA journal · 2025Article
- Development of depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 crisis: the role of coping strategies and their change.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Why friendship and loneliness affect our health.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Review
- Social connections combat loneliness and promote wellbeing among college students coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Anxiety and perceived social support as moderators of cognitive and emotional well-being in populations affected by COVID-19.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- COVID-19 impacts in Northernmost Finland.International journal of circumpolar health · 2024Article
- Efficacy of community groups as a social prescription for senior health-insights from a natural experiment during the COVID-19 lockdown.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Psychosocial implications of early COVID-19 restrictions on older adults in a small-town region in Southwestern, Pennsylvania (USA).International psychogeriatrics · 2024Article
- Social distancing stress, anxiety/depression, COVID-19 diagnosis, gender identity, and immigration status.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2024Article
- Moderators of Loneliness Trajectories in People with Systemic Sclerosis During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A SPIN COVID-19 Cohort Longitudinal Study.International journal of behavioral medicine · 2024Article
- The effect of intergenerational support from children on loneliness among older adults-the moderating effect of internet usage and intergenerational distance.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- A blended group intervention to promote social connectedness and wellbeing among international university students: an exploratory study.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Higher oxytocin concentrations occur in subjects who build affiliative relationships with companion robots.iScience · 2023Article
- Deepening Depression in Women Balancing Work-Life Responsibilities and Caregiving during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings from Gender-Specific Face-to-Face Street Interviews Conducted in Italy.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Impact of Nonpharmacological Interventions on Severe Acute Respiratory Infections in Children: From the National Surveillance Database.Journal of Korean medical science · 2023Article
- Risk factors for loneliness: A literature review.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2023Review
- Interaction during online classes fosters engagement with learning and self-directed study both in the first and second years of the COVID-19 pandemic.Computers & education · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In early pandemic waves, when vaccination against COVID-19 was not yet an option, distancing and reduced social contact were the most effective measures to slow down the pandemic. Changes in frequency and forms of social contact have reduced the spread of the COVID-19 virus and thus saved lives, yet there is increasing evidence for negative side effects such as mental health issues. In the present study, we investigate the development of loneliness and its predictors to examine the role of changes in social networks due to social distancing and other COVID-19-related life changes. A total of 737 participants (age range = 18-81 years) completed an online survey in three waves during the last quarter of 2020 at one-month intervals. Latent growth and multilevel modeling revealed that emotional loneliness increased over time, while social loneliness remained stable. Moreover, socially lonely individuals were likely to also develop emotional loneliness over time. Increased social distancing and sanitary measures were accompanied by decreased social interactions and loss of individuals considered SOS contacts and confidants. Changes in specific social network indicators were differentially associated with changes in emotional vs social loneliness: Loss of friends considered confidants was associated with increasing emotional loneliness, whereas loss of friends considered SOS contacts and reduced overall social interactions were related to increasing social loneliness. Lastly, individuals with more family-and-friend SOS contacts, more friends as confidants and an overall higher number of social interactions were more protected from feeling socially or emotionally lonely. Study findings enhance the understanding of underlying mechanisms differentially contributing to social and emotional loneliness and offer practical suggestions to reduce mental-health side effects of social distancing.
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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.