Loneliness during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison between Older and Younger People.

Yoshihiko Kadoya,Mostafa Saidur Rahim Khan

doi:10.3390/ijerph18157871

Yoshihiko Kadoya, Mostafa Saidur Rahim Khan

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18157871

Copy DOI

Abstract

The precautionary measures and uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have serious psychological impacts on peoples’ mental health. We used longitudinal data from Hiroshima University to investigate loneliness before and during the pandemic among older and younger people in Japan. We provide evidence that loneliness among both older and younger people increased considerably during the pandemic. Although loneliness among younger people is more pervasive, the magnitude of increase in loneliness during the pandemic is higher among older people. Our logit regression analysis shows that age, subjective health status, and feelings of depression are strongly associated with loneliness before and during the pandemic. Moreover, household income and financial satisfaction are associated with loneliness among older people during the pandemic while gender, marital status, living condition, and depression are associated with loneliness among younger people during the pandemic. The evidence of increasing loneliness during the pandemic is concerning for a traditionally well-connected and culturally collectivist society such as Japan. As loneliness has a proven connection with both physical and mental health, we suggest immediate policy interventions to provide mental health support for lonely people so they feel more cared for, secure, and socially connected.

Highlights

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on many aspects of peoples’ psychological conditions, including loneliness
We can see a significant increase in loneliness both among older and younger people in Japan according to both measures of loneliness
The results suggest that respondents with younger age, higher balance of household assets, subjective health conditions, lower satisfaction about current financial condition, feelings of depression, and a myopic view about the future were lonely before the pandemic while respondents with younger age, the status of living alone, less household income, subjective health conditions, feelings of depression, and a myopic view of future were lonely during the pandemic

Summary

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on many aspects of peoples’ psychological conditions, including loneliness. Several studies report that loneliness among both younger and older people has considerably increased during the pandemic due to maintaining virus mitigating measures such as social distancing, self-isolation, shelter in place, work from home, etc. The uncertainties and mitigating measures surrounding the pandemic have changed peoples’ normal lifestyle and social relationships in such a way that their psychological conditions and loneliness have become vulnerable. The concern about loneliness among older people is worrying due to their living status, need for long-term care, and vulnerable physical and mental health conditions [8,9,10]. Loneliness is a psycho-sociological state of mind in which a person feels a lack of companionship or social connectedness quantitatively, qualitatively, or both. People may experience loneliness even when they are physically accompanied and socially connected. Cacioppo and Patrick [14] argue that the mere presence of others does not make people feel less lonely; rather, they need the presence of someone whom they trust and can share common goals, plan for future, and work

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion