Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Multi-Country Study

Centre for Innovative Ageing, School of Health and Social Care, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK

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School of Social Work, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA

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Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA

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College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, UK

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Research Center for Equitable Development (EQUIDE), Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City 01219, Mexico

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Division of Geriatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA

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Institute of Mental Health Sciences, School of Health Sciences, Ulster University, Newtownabbey BT37 0QB, UK

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School of Social Work, Faculty of Education and Professional Studies, Nipissing University, North Bay, ON P1B 8L7, Canada

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Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, W23 F2K8 Kildare, Ireland

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Department of Social Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland

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College of Health and Human Services, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA

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Academic Editors: Catherine Hennessy and Elaine Douglas

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(19), 9982; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18199982

Received: 31 July 2021 / Revised: 14 September 2021 / Accepted: 14 September 2021 / Published: 23 September 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health and Well-Being of Older People in an Era of COVID-19)

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Abstract

The COVID-19 global pandemic and subsequent public health social measures have challenged our social and economic life, with increasing concerns around potentially rising levels of social isolation and loneliness. This paper is based on cross-sectional online survey data (available in 10 languages, from 2 June to 16 November 2020) with 20,398 respondents from 101 different countries. It aims to help increase our understanding of the global risk factors that are associated with social isolation and loneliness, irrespective of culture or country, to support evidence-based policy, services and public health interventions. We found the prevalence of severe loneliness was 21% during COVID-19 with 6% retrospectively reporting severe loneliness prior to the pandemic. A fifth were defined as isolated based on their usual connections, with 13% reporting a substantial increase in isolation during COVID-19. Personal finances and mental health were overarching and consistently cross-cutting predictors of loneliness and social isolation, both before and during the pandemic. With the likelihood of future waves of COVID-19 and related restrictions, it must be a public health priority to address the root causes of loneliness and social isolation and, in particular, address the needs of specific groups such as carers or those living alone. View Full-Text

Keywords: loneliness; social isolation; public health; COVID-19; risk factors

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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MDPI and ACS Style

O’Sullivan, R.; Burns, A.; Leavey, G.; Leroi, I.; Burholt, V.; Lubben, J.; Holt-Lunstad, J.; Victor, C.; Lawlor, B.; Vilar-Compte, M.; Perissinotto, C.M.; Tully, M.A.; Sullivan, M.P.; Rosato, M.; Power, J.M.; Tiilikainen, E.; Prohaska, T.R. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Multi-Country Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 9982. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18199982

AMA Style

O’Sullivan R, Burns A, Leavey G, Leroi I, Burholt V, Lubben J, Holt-Lunstad J, Victor C, Lawlor B, Vilar-Compte M, Perissinotto CM, Tully MA, Sullivan MP, Rosato M, Power JM, Tiilikainen E, Prohaska TR. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Multi-Country Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(19):9982. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18199982

Chicago/Turabian Style

O’Sullivan, Roger, Annette Burns, Gerard Leavey, Iracema Leroi, Vanessa Burholt, James Lubben, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Christina Victor, Brian Lawlor, Mireya Vilar-Compte, Carla M. Perissinotto, Mark A. Tully, Mary Pat Sullivan, Michael Rosato, Joanna McHugh Power, Elisa Tiilikainen, and Thomas R. Prohaska. 2021. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Multi-Country Study" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 19: 9982. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18199982

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Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Multi-Country Study

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