Psychology: The pandemic only moderately increased feelings of loneliness – Health

When millions of people suddenly found themselves working from home and arguing about the sense or nonsense of strict lockdowns, numerous other pandemics were diagnosed in the wake of the virus. For example, here and there the view prevailed in the public discussion that Corona increases feelings of loneliness to an alarming extent. In the weeks leading up to the first pandemic Christmas of 2020, for example, tales of depressing holidays, in which people isolated from loved ones sink into loneliness, were booming. In numerous individual cases this may have been the case. But what about on a societal level, has the corona pandemic really led to a pandemic of loneliness? A current meta-analysis by researchers led by Mareike Ernst from the University of Mainz gives a multi-layered answer: Yes, there were some effects to be observed. But these are apparently not particularly large and sometimes contradictory. To speak of a loneliness pandemic is “probably exaggerated”, write in the journal American Psychologist. “There is an increase, but not to the extent that is often claimed,” says lead author Ernst.

The scientists evaluated 34 individual studies in which more than 200,000 subjects had taken part. The researchers attached great importance to using high-quality studies, especially so-called longitudinal studies, for which measurements are repeatedly collected over a period of time – in this case before the pandemic and during the pandemic. That was necessary, says Manfred Beutel from the University of Mainz, who was also involved in the study, “because the previous results on loneliness in the pandemic were extremely contradictory”. Some studies observed an increase, others found no significant change, and still other work even seemed to diagnose a decrease in feelings of loneliness. “The findings differed,” says Ernst.

Loneliness means something different to lay people than it does to scientists

In the current analysis, the researchers now identified a small but significant increase in feelings of loneliness. Ernst’s team puts this at around five percent compared to the time before the pandemic. In quantitative terms, that’s not a big leap, but epidemiological studies rarely show major effects, says Beutel, “in that respect it’s relevant.” Above all, people are affected to different degrees, according to Ernst. Based on the studies evaluated, the scientists cannot make any clear statements about who was particularly affected by loneliness during the pandemic. It is generally known that the risk of loneliness is highest in the transition to adulthood and in the later years of a person’s life. How is the risk in the pandemic distributed among different population groups? One can only speculate about that. “The home office can also have positive effects,” says Ernst. For example, through closer contact with family, partner, children. That is probably different among students, said Beutel, whose access to the social environment was cut off by the corona restrictions. For an exact analysis, however, the data on the individual subgroups are missing.

There could be a simple reason why the public discussion sometimes spoke of a loneliness pandemic that was rampant in almost all sections of the population: the layman’s understanding of loneliness does not correspond to the scientific use of the term. “Social isolation is a risk factor for loneliness, but it’s not the same thing,” says Ernst. Being alone does not necessarily make you feel lonely. Rather, the feeling arises when one’s own demands for social contacts are not met, when these are not sufficient, when they do not provide satisfaction or meaning. So it is also possible to feel lonely among people. And everyone ticks differently: For example, a study from Germany showed that extroverts felt particularly lonely during the pandemic.

It is apparently not so easy to say whether the observed increase in feelings of loneliness in the pandemic is a negative sign per se. “First of all, loneliness isn’t fundamentally a bad thing,” says Ernst. “It’s a signal that something should be changed.” Only when loneliness becomes chronic does it become a burden and a risk to physical and mental health and premature death. For this reason alone, the phenomenon should continue to be closely monitored.

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