Weaver Raven H, Sano Yoshie, Lanigan Jane, Parker Louise, Eddy Linda, Power Thomas G, Houghten Myah
Human Development, 6760Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
Human Development, Washington State University, Vancouver, USA.
Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2023 Mar;96(2):201-218. doi: 10.1177/00914150221077955. Epub 2022 Feb 9.
Social connection is important across the life course, but overall levels have been declining. The COVID-19 pandemic presented a unique context to examine social connectedness and adaptive capacity in times of social adversity. We used a parallel mixed method design to collect online survey data from a representative U.S. sample (N = 359). Applying an exploratory sequential approach, we used a general linear model multivariate approach to repeated measures to test for differences in participants' perceptions of social connectedness by time and age category and qualitative analysis to gain insights about disrupted social contexts. Results indicated that social connectedness decreased after mitigation restrictions for all age groups, but individuals in emerging and late adulthood felt the greatest impact. Two themes emerged: differing emotional responses to altered communication and intentionality of maintaining and/or creating social connections. Experiences of social connectedness need to be understood as a function of life stage and developmental timing.
社会联系在人的一生中都很重要，但总体水平一直在下降。新冠疫情为研究社会逆境时期的社会联系和适应能力提供了一个独特的背景。我们采用了平行混合方法设计，从具有代表性的美国样本（N = 359）中收集在线调查数据。运用探索性序列法，我们采用一般线性模型多变量重复测量方法来检验参与者对社会联系的认知在时间和年龄类别上的差异，并进行定性分析以深入了解被破坏的社会背景。结果表明，在缓解限制措施实施后，所有年龄组的社会联系都有所减少，但处于成年早期和晚期的个体受到的影响最大。出现了两个主题：对沟通变化的不同情绪反应以及维持和/或建立社会联系的意图。社会联系的体验需要被理解为生命阶段和发展时机的函数。
