Cross-National Study of Worrying, Loneliness, and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison between Individuals with and without Infection in the Family
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methods
2.1. Setting
2.2. Participants
2.3. Measures
2.3.1. Sociodemographic Characteristics
2.3.2. Worry
2.3.3. Loneliness
2.3.4. Mental Health
2.3.5. COVID-19 Infection
2.4. Statistical Analysis
2.5. Ethics
3. Results
3.1. Participants
3.2. Differences between Participants with and without Infection
3.3. Factors Associated with Worrying, Loneliness, and Mental Health
4. Discussion
5. Study Limitations
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Without Infection (n = 3306, 86.8%) | With Infection (n = 504, 13.2%) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Characteristics | n | % | n | % | p |
Age group | 0.56 | ||||
18–29 years | 619 | 87.8 | 86 | 12.2 | |
30–39 years | 628 | 88.1 | 85 | 11.9 | |
40–49 years | 721 | 87.2 | 106 | 12.2 | |
50–59 years | 617 | 85.3 | 106 | 14.7 | |
60–69 years | 526 | 85.9 | 86 | 14.1 | |
70+ years | 191 | 85.3 | 33 | 14.7 | |
Gender | <0.01 | ||||
Male | 647 | 90.1 | 71 | 9.9 | |
Female | 2607 | 85.9 | 427 | 14.1 | |
Living area | 0.35 | ||||
Rural/farming | 244 | 86.5 | 38 | 13.5 | |
Small town | 736 | 87.3 | 107 | 12.7 | |
Medium-sized city | 1079 | 87.9 | 149 | 12.1 | |
Large city | 1247 | 85.6 | 210 | 14.4 | |
Education level | 0.27 | ||||
Lower education | 848 | 85.7 | 141 | 14.3 | |
Bachelor’s degree or higher education | 2457 | 87.1 | 363 | 12.9 | |
Living with spouse/partner | 0.93 | ||||
Yes | 2020 | 86.4 | 319 | 13.6 | |
No | 1041 | 86.5 | 163 | 13.5 | |
Employment | |||||
Yes, full-time or part-time | 2340 | 86.9 | 352 | 13.1 | 0.72 |
No | 966 | 86.5 | 151 | 13.5 |
Variables | Without Infection | With Infection | Difference | Effect Size | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Worry | M (SD) | M (SD) | M (SD) | Cohen’s d | p |
Worry about own situation | 2.38 (1.03) | 2.52 (1.11) | 0.14 | 0.13 | <0.05 |
Worry about immediate family | 2.75 (1.00) | 2.99 (1.03) | 0.25 | 0.24 | <0.001 |
Worry about the future | 2.75 (1.11) | 2.83 (1.06) | 0.09 | 0.07 | 0.16 |
Loneliness | |||||
Emotional loneliness | 6.01 (2.69) | 6.18 (2.65) | 0.17 | 0.06 | 0.18 |
Social loneliness | 3.89 (2.98) | 4.12 (3.19) | 0.22 | 0.08 | 0.14 |
Mental health | |||||
GHQ score | 16.19 (6.87) | 17.09 (7.72) | 0.90 | 0.13 | <0.05 |
Sociodemographic Variables | Worry Self | Worry Family | Worry Future | Emotional Loneliness | Social Loneliness | Mental Health |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age group | 0.02 | 0.08 | −0.05 | −0.19 *** | −0.06 | −0.13 ** |
Gender | 0.10 | −0.04 | −0.02 | 0.04 | −0.04 | 0.09 * |
Education | −0.08 | −0.09 | −0.08 | −0.07 | −0.07 | −0.07 |
Employment | −0.09 | −0.03 | −0.15 ** | −0.11 * | −0.08 | −0.09 |
Living with spouse/partner | −0.06 | −0.11 | −0.07 | −0.13 ** | −0.16 ** | −0.05 |
Explained variance | 3.2% | 2.8% | 4.0% * | 7.8% *** | 4.4% ** | 4.5% ** |
Independent Variables | Worry Self | Worry Family | Worry Future | Emotional Loneliness | Social Loneliness | Mental Health |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age group | 0.05 * | −0.02 | −0.05* | −0.19 *** | −0.00 | −0.16 *** |
Gender | 0.07 ** | 0.08 *** | 0.08 *** | 0.04 * | −0.05 ** | 0.10 *** |
Education | −0.10 *** | −0.04 | −0.09 *** | −0.08 *** | −0.06 *** | −0.07 *** |
Employment | −0.09 *** | −0.05* | −0.16 *** | −0.09 *** | −0.10 *** | −0.10 *** |
Living with spouse/partner | −0.06 ** | −0.05* | −0.08 *** | −0.18 *** | −0.17 *** | −0.13 *** |
Explained variance | 3.6% *** | 1.4% *** | 5.7% *** | 10.4% *** | 4.9% *** | 7.1% *** |
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Bonsaksen, T.; Leung, J.; Schoultz, M.; Thygesen, H.; Price, D.; Ruffolo, M.; Geirdal, A.Ø. Cross-National Study of Worrying, Loneliness, and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison between Individuals with and without Infection in the Family. Healthcare 2021, 9, 903. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9070903
Bonsaksen T, Leung J, Schoultz M, Thygesen H, Price D, Ruffolo M, Geirdal AØ. Cross-National Study of Worrying, Loneliness, and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison between Individuals with and without Infection in the Family. Healthcare. 2021; 9(7):903. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9070903
Chicago/Turabian StyleBonsaksen, Tore, Janni Leung, Mariyana Schoultz, Hilde Thygesen, Daicia Price, Mary Ruffolo, and Amy Østertun Geirdal. 2021. "Cross-National Study of Worrying, Loneliness, and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison between Individuals with and without Infection in the Family" Healthcare 9, no. 7: 903. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9070903