Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Campus Charité Mitte), Berlin, Germany.
Front Public Health. 2023 Mar 2;10:1067038. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1067038. eCollection 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing an epidemic of loneliness. Previous studies have shown the differences in positive and negative experiences of lonely and non-lonely people in a non-pandemic setting. However, it is unclear how the drastic alteration of the COVID-19 pandemic may influence peoples' reactions and beliefs, especially among those who feel lonely. Our study aims to examine the positive and negative experiences among lonely and non-lonely people. We undertook a cross-sectional online survey of the general population in Germany ( = 1,758) from May 2020 to May 2022. We assessed their feelings of loneliness with the short eight-item UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-8), their positive and negative experience of living in the COVID-19 pandemic as well as their psychological distress regarding the pandemic with the COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI). We found lonely individuals (ULS-8 score ≥ 16) reported fewer positive experiences of living in the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, less time with loved ones [ = -2.5, = 0.012] and less sense of togetherness [ = -2.39, = 0.017] as compared to non-lonely individuals. Meanwhile, they experienced more negative experiences, for example, worry and fear [ = 6.31, < 0.001] compared with non-lonely individuals. Interestingly, lonely people were less likely to view the pandemic as a conspiracy than non-lonely people were [ = -3.35, < 0.001]. Our results may give insight into attribution bias and the negative affect of lonely people during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as highlight the experience of non-lonely people and raise the question of differences in conspiracy beliefs. For pandemic preparedness and response, decision-makers may focus on interventions to foster social cohesion, empower people, build resilience, and most importantly provide timely social care.
新冠疫情大流行正在引发孤独流行病。先前的研究表明，在非大流行环境中，孤独和非孤独人群的积极和消极体验存在差异。然而，目前尚不清楚新冠疫情的急剧变化会如何影响人们的反应和信念，尤其是在那些感到孤独的人群中。我们的研究旨在检验孤独和非孤独人群的积极和消极体验。我们于 2020 年 5 月至 2022 年 5 月期间在德国进行了一项针对普通人群的横断面在线调查（ = 1758）。我们使用简短的 UCLA 孤独量表（UCLA Loneliness Scale，ULS-8）评估参与者的孤独感，使用新冠疫情期间生活的积极和消极体验量表（COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index，CPDI）评估他们对大流行的心理困扰。我们发现，孤独个体（ULS-8 得分≥16）报告了较少的新冠疫情期间生活的积极体验，例如与亲人相处的时间较少[ = -2.5， = 0.012]和集体感较少[ = -2.39， = 0.017]，与非孤独个体相比。同时，他们经历了更多的负面体验，例如担忧和恐惧[ = 6.31， < 0.001]。有趣的是，与非孤独个体相比，孤独个体不太可能将大流行视为阴谋[ = -3.35， < 0.001]。我们的研究结果可能为了解孤独人群在新冠疫情期间的归因偏见和负面情绪提供了一些启示，并强调了非孤独人群的体验，以及阴谋论信念差异的问题。对于大流行的防范和应对，决策者可能需要关注促进社会凝聚力、赋予人们权力、建立复原力的干预措施，最重要的是提供及时的社会关怀。
