Department of Social Welfare, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea.
Department of Media and Communication Studies, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea.
Front Public Health. 2024 Oct 8;12:1425575. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1425575. eCollection 2024.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to the wellbeing of the older adults worldwide. Both social isolation and loneliness are associated with decreased subjective wellbeing, but it is uncertain whether their effects are independent or if loneliness represents the affective pathway through which social isolation impairs subjective wellbeing. We therefore assessed the extent to which the association between social isolation and subjective wellbeing is mediated by loneliness. We utilized data from the 2020 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) and focused on a sample of 3,821 individuals aged 60 and above as the participants for our study. The results revealed a significant negative association between social isolation and subjective wellbeing among the older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, loneliness was found to mediate this relationship, indicating that social isolation led to increased feelings of loneliness, which in turn negatively impacted subjective wellbeing. These findings highlight the detrimental effects of social isolation and loneliness on the wellbeing of the older adults in China during the pandemic. The implications of these results emphasize the need for interventions and support systems that address social isolation and loneliness among the older adults, promoting their wellbeing and overall mental health during challenging times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 大流行给全球老年人的健康带来了前所未有的挑战。社交隔离和孤独都与主观幸福感下降有关，但尚不清楚它们的影响是否相互独立，或者孤独是否代表社交隔离损害主观幸福感的情感途径。因此，我们评估了社交隔离与主观幸福感之间的关联在多大程度上受到孤独感的影响。我们利用了 2020 年中国家庭追踪调查（CFPS）的数据，并将 3821 名 60 岁及以上的老年人作为研究样本。研究结果表明，在 COVID-19 大流行期间，社交隔离与老年人的主观幸福感之间存在显著的负相关关系。此外，孤独感在这一关系中起中介作用，表明社交隔离导致孤独感增加，进而对主观幸福感产生负面影响。这些发现突显了社交隔离和孤独感对中国老年人在疫情期间健康的不利影响。这些结果的意义强调了在 COVID-19 大流行等困难时期，需要采取干预措施和支持系统来解决老年人的社交隔离和孤独问题，促进他们的幸福感和整体心理健康。
