Financial Strain and Loneliness among Young Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Psychosocial Resources

Tehila Refaeli,Netta Achdut

doi:10.3390/su13126942

Abstract

The COVID-19 (2019 novel coronavirus) pandemic, which has been accompanied by an economic crisis and multiple restrictions on our lives, has sparked renewed interest in the topic of loneliness as well as its determinants. We examined (1) the association between financial strain, occurring upon the outbreak of the virus, and loneliness among Israeli young people (aged 20–35); (2) the associations between cognitive social capital, psychological resources, and loneliness; and (3) whether these social and psychological resources were moderators in the financial strain–loneliness link. A real-time survey based on snowball sampling was conducted during April 2020 (N = 426). Hierarchical linear models were employed to explore associations between financial strain, cognitive social capital, psychological resources, and loneliness. Financial strain emerging during the pandemic was associated with greater loneliness. Cognitive social capital and optimism decreased loneliness. Sense of mastery moderated the financial strain–loneliness link. Policymakers must develop and extend mental health initiatives aimed at alleviating the psychological consequences of the pandemic and must also combat financial strain via unemployment compensation and social assistance programs. In line with the United Nations sustainable development goals, these tasks should be viewed as an integral part of promoting public health.

Highlights

With respect to the psychological resources of optimism and mastery, both were lower among young adults who reported financial strain
We found that sense of mastery appeared insignificant in explaining loneliness in the main effect model, it moderated the negative effect of emerging financial strain in the wake of the pandemic on loneliness
We found no further evidence of moderation—the effect of financial strain on loneliness appeared to be uniform across participants, regardless of their different levels of social resources and optimism

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The novel coronavirus outbreak is a crisis that began in the health domain but led—. Almost simultaneously—to a crisis on the economic and social front. Following the declaration by the World Health Organization that COVID-19 (2019 novel coronavirus) met the criteria for a pandemic [1], many governments imposed restrictions of varying degrees of strictness that impacted people’s day-to-day lives (see [2] for international comparison)

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Conclusion