Reinwarth Anna C, Beutel Manfred E, Schmidt Peter, Wild Philipp S, Münzel Thomas, König Jochem, Konstantinides Stavros V, Schattenberg Jörn M, Lackner Karl J, Schuster Alexander K, Tüscher Oliver, Geschke Katharina
Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Psychol Med. 2024 Dec 27:1-10. doi: 10.1017/S0033291724001818.
Loneliness has become a major public health issue of the recent decades due to its severe impact on health and mortality. Little is known about the relation between loneliness and social anxiety. This study aimed (1) to explore levels of loneliness and social anxiety in the general population, and (2) to assess whether and how loneliness affects symptoms of social anxiety and vice versa over a period of five years.
The study combined data from the baseline assessment and the five-year follow-up of the population-based Gutenberg Health Study. Data of = 15 010 participants at baseline ( = 55.01, s.d. = 11.10) were analyzed. Multiple regression analyses with loneliness and symptoms of social anxiety at follow-up including sociodemographic, physical illnesses, and mental health indicators at baseline were used to test relevant covariates. Effects of loneliness on symptoms of social anxiety over five years and vice versa were analyzed by autoregressive cross-lagged structural equation models.
At baseline, 1076 participants (7.41%) showed symptoms of social anxiety and 1537 (10.48%) participants reported feelings of loneliness. Controlling for relevant covariates, symptoms of social anxiety had a small significant effect on loneliness five years later (standardized estimate of 0.164, < 0.001). Vice versa, there was no significant effect of loneliness on symptoms of social anxiety taking relevant covariates into account.
Findings provided evidence that symptoms of social anxiety are predictive for loneliness. Thus, prevention and intervention efforts for loneliness need to address symptoms of social anxiety.
近几十年来，孤独因其对健康和死亡率的严重影响已成为一个主要的公共卫生问题。关于孤独与社交焦虑之间的关系，人们知之甚少。本研究旨在：（1）探讨普通人群中的孤独水平和社交焦虑水平；（2）评估在五年时间里孤独是否以及如何影响社交焦虑症状，反之亦然。
该研究合并了基于人群的古登堡健康研究基线评估和五年随访的数据。对基线时n = 15010名参与者（年龄均值 = 55.01，标准差 = 11.10）的数据进行了分析。采用多元回归分析，将随访时的孤独感和社交焦虑症状与基线时的社会人口统计学、身体疾病和心理健康指标相结合，以检验相关协变量。通过自回归交叉滞后结构方程模型分析了孤独感对五年内社交焦虑症状的影响，反之亦然。
在基线时，1076名参与者（7.41%）表现出社交焦虑症状，1537名参与者（10.48%）报告有孤独感。在控制相关协变量后，社交焦虑症状在五年后对孤独感有微小但显著的影响（标准化估计值为0.164，P < 0.001）。反之，在考虑相关协变量的情况下，孤独感对社交焦虑症状没有显著影响。
研究结果提供了证据，表明社交焦虑症状可预测孤独感。因此，针对孤独感的预防和干预措施需要解决社交焦虑症状。
