Loneliness, wellbeing, and social activity in Scottish older adults resulting from social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Tomaz, S. A. et al. (2021) Loneliness, wellbeing, and social activity in Scottish older adults resulting from social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(9), 4517. (doi: 10.3390/ijerph18094517) (PMID:33923170) (PMCID:PMC8123175)

Abstract

This study examined the impact of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic on loneliness, wellbeing, and social activity, including social support, in Scottish older adults. A mixed methods online survey was used to examine these factors during social distancing mid-lockdown, July 2020. Participants were asked to state whether loneliness, wellbeing, social activity, and social support had changed since pre-social distancing, and to provide details of strategies used to keep socially active. A total of 1429 adults (84% aged 60+ years) living in Scotland took part. The majority reported that social distancing regulations made them experience more loneliness and less social contact and support. Loneliness during lockdown was higher than reported norms for this age group before the pandemic. A larger social network, more social contact, and better perceived social support seemed to be protective against loneliness and poor wellbeing. Positive coping strategies reported included increasing online social contact with both existing social networks and reconnecting with previous networks, as well as increasing contact with neighbours and people in the community. This underlines the importance of addressing loneliness and social support in older adults but particularly during situations where risk of isolation is high.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research was funded by the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) Rapid Research call, grant number COV/STG/20/08. The APC was funded by CSO.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Tomaz, Dr Simone and Ryde, Dr Gemma

Creator Roles

Tomaz, S. A.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing, Visualization, Project administration
Ryde, G.: Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing – review and editing

• Authors: Tomaz, S. A., Coffee, P., Ryde, G. C., Swales, B., Neely, K. C., Connelly, J., Kirkland, A., McCabe, L., Watchman, K., Andreis, F., Martin, J. G., Pina, I., and Whittaker, A. C.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences
• Journal Name: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 1661-7827
• ISSN (Online): 1660-4601
• Published Online: 24 April 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18(9): 4517
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License