Hoffart Asle, Johnson Sverre Urnes, Ebrahimi Omid V
Modum Bad Psychiatric Hospital, Vikersund, Norway.
Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Front Psychiatry. 2020 Nov 20;11:589127. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.589127. eCollection 2020.
The mitigation strategies employed against the COVID-19 pandemic have severe mental health consequences. In particular, as a result of the social distancing protocols, loneliness is likely to increase. This study investigates (a) potential risk and resilience factors for loneliness in the Norwegian population during the strict social distancing non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs) implemented against the pandemic and (b) the associations between loneliness and psychopathology symptoms. A survey was disseminated online to the adult Norwegian population when strict social distancing measures had been implemented for 2 weeks. The resulting sample of 10,061 respondents was unproportionate in terms of gender and educational level and thus sensitivity analyses were conducted. The levels of loneliness were compared across demographic sub-groups, and regression analyses were conducted to identify potential risk and resilience factors for loneliness and associations between loneliness and psychopathology symptoms. Among the stable factors, being single and having a psychiatric diagnosis were related to more loneliness with small effect sizes. Among the state risk factors, more rumination and worry in general were associated with stronger loneliness, showing a medium effect size. Among the coping behaviors examined, doing new things at home not done otherwise was negatively related to loneliness, with a small effect size. Loneliness was associated with both depression and anxiety with small effect sizes when all potential confounders and psychiatric diagnosis were controlled for. The relationship to depression was more marked than the relationship to anxiety. The findings suggest that singles and those with a psychiatric diagnosis were most affected by loneliness during the implementation of social distancing measures to impede the coronavirus. The results support the link between loneliness and depression and anxiety symptoms. The results of the analysis of potential risk and resilience factors point to intervention targets for reducing loneliness during pandemic crises.
针对新冠疫情所采取的缓解策略会产生严重的心理健康后果。特别是，由于社交距离协议，孤独感可能会增加。本研究调查了：（a）在针对该疫情实施的严格社交距离非药物干预（NPI）期间，挪威人群中孤独感的潜在风险和复原力因素；以及（b）孤独感与精神病理学症状之间的关联。在严格的社交距离措施实施两周后，通过网络向挪威成年人群体进行了一项调查。最终得到的10061名受访者样本在性别和教育水平方面不均衡，因此进行了敏感性分析。比较了不同人口亚组的孤独感水平，并进行了回归分析，以确定孤独感的潜在风险和复原力因素，以及孤独感与精神病理学症状之间的关联。在稳定因素中，单身和患有精神疾病诊断与更多的孤独感相关，效应量较小。在状态风险因素中，总体上更多的沉思和担忧与更强的孤独感相关，显示出中等效应量。在所考察的应对行为中，在家中做平时不做的新事情与孤独感呈负相关，效应量较小。当控制所有潜在混杂因素和精神疾病诊断后，孤独感与抑郁和焦虑均相关，效应量较小。与抑郁的关系比与焦虑的关系更显著。研究结果表明，在实施社交距离措施以阻止冠状病毒传播期间，单身者和患有精神疾病诊断的人受孤独感影响最大。结果支持了孤独感与抑郁和焦虑症状之间的联系。对潜在风险和复原力因素的分析结果指出了在疫情危机期间减少孤独感的干预目标。
