Department of Mental Health and Suicide, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway.
Norwegian Social Research (NOVA), Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway.
Scand J Public Health. 2021 Nov;49(7):766-773. doi: 10.1177/1403494821993711. Epub 2021 Mar 1.
There are concerns that lockdown measures taken during the current COVID-19 pandemic lead to a rise in loneliness, especially in vulnerable groups. We explore trends in loneliness before and during the pandemic and differences across population subgroups.
Data were collected via online questionnaires in June 2020 and four to eight months prior in two Norwegian counties (=10,740; 54% women; age 19-92 years). Baseline data come from the Norwegian Counties Public Health Survey (participation rate 46%, of which 59% took part in a COVID-19 follow-up study).
Overall loneliness was stable or falling during the lockdown. However, some subgroups, single individuals and older women, reported slightly increased loneliness during lockdown. Interestingly, individuals with low social support and high levels of psychological distress and loneliness before the pandemic experienced decreasing loneliness during the pandemic.
Although data limitations preclude strong conclusions, our findings suggest that, overall, Norwegians seem to have managed the lockdown without alarming increases in loneliness. It is important to provide support and to continue investigating the psychological impact of the pandemic over time and across regions differentially affected by the pandemic.
有人担心，当前 COVID-19 大流行期间采取的封锁措施会导致孤独感上升，尤其是在弱势群体中。我们探讨了大流行前和大流行期间孤独感的趋势，以及不同人群亚组之间的差异。
数据于 2020 年 6 月通过在线问卷收集，在挪威的两个县（=10740 人；54%为女性；年龄 19-92 岁）进行了四个月到八个月的前期调查。基线数据来自挪威县公共卫生调查（参与率为 46%，其中 59%参加了 COVID-19 随访研究）。
总体而言，孤独感在封锁期间保持稳定或下降。然而，一些亚组，如单身人士和老年女性，在封锁期间报告孤独感略有增加。有趣的是，在大流行前社交支持较少、心理困扰和孤独感水平较高的个体，在大流行期间孤独感有所下降。
尽管数据限制使得无法得出强有力的结论，但我们的发现表明，总体而言，挪威人似乎在没有孤独感显著增加的情况下度过了封锁期。重要的是要提供支持，并随着时间的推移和受大流行不同影响的地区继续调查大流行的心理影响。
