Loneliness Progression Among Older Adults During the Early Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States and Canada

Changes of Solitude Behaviors among College Students: A Latent Transition Analysis

Solitude behaviors encompass four types: positive solitude, eccentricity, social avoidance, and loneliness. These four types of solitude behaviors are not entirely independent but can co-occur within individuals. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore latent classes of solitude behaviors, their developmental patterns, and relevant influencing factors among college students. The Solitude Behavior Scale-Short Version was administered to a sample of college students. A total of 417 Chinese students completed a three-time longitudinal paper questionnaire. The data analysis was performed using Mplus 8.0 and SPSS 26.0. Harman's single-factor test, latent class analysis (LCA), and latent transition analysis (LTA) were employed for subsequent analysis. The results revealed three classes: low solitude, moderate solitude, and high solitude, which exhibited temporal changes. Social avoidance and loneliness could facilitate transitions between high solitude and moderate solitude. Females and first-grade students exhibited higher transition probabilities than males and students not in the first grade. The incidence of moderate solitude in the not-first-grade group was significantly higher than that in the first-grade group. Finally, this study offers new insights into the dynamics of solitude behaviors and their association with gender and age.

Social contact during the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of long-term connectedness and cumulative inequality in later life

Though the COVID-19 crisis put many older adults at sudden risk of social isolation, the pandemic was far from the "great equalizer" some pundits and politicians initially claimed it would be. Drawing from Cumulative Inequality Theory, I consider how long-run patterns of social dis/connectedness contextualize key disparities in social contact that manifested during the pandemic. I incorporate data from four rounds of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (2005-2021), constructing multiple operationalizations of connectedness accumulation across pre-COVID years and examining several types of social contact during the pandemic, both in-person and remote. Results from ordered logistic regression show that those most durably connected were especially likely to incorporate digital tools for maintaining contact with family and friends. On the other hand, people experiencing more bouts of social disconnection were least likely to see friends during the pandemic, and were yet relatively tolerant of that level of engagement. Even while many older people's level of social dis/connectedness fluctuates over the course of 15 years, it was long-run accumulation patterns-not conditions observed most recently-that best explain their experience of social contact during the pandemic. Findings point to the role of crises in perpetuating and exacerbating key axes of inequality, and suggest points of attention and intervention in COVID's aftermath.

Correlates and trajectories of loneliness among community-dwelling older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: A Canadian longitudinal study

The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to examine the contributions of social interaction and other non-social factors to loneliness among older adults in the context of confinement measures constraining opportunities for in-person social interactions. This study aims to identify groups of individuals with heterogeneous trajectories of loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore the sociodemographic, health, psychological and social interaction-related factors associated with these trajectories. In this 12-month longitudinal study, 614 community-dwelling individuals aged 60+ years completed telephone-based interviews on four occasions between May 2020 and May 2021. Loneliness was evaluated using the three-item version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Multilevel modelling assessed average changes in loneliness over time. Group-based trajectory modelling was performed to identify distinct trajectories of loneliness over time. Multinomial logistic regressions were conducted to explore the predictors of these trajectories. On average, there was a curvilinear change in loneliness that tracked the stringency of the COVID-19-related confinement measures. In this convenience sample, three heterogeneous trajectories were identified: a stable-low (17.2%), a fluctuating-moderate (48.8%) and a sustained-elevated (34.0%) trajectory. Participants in the sustained-elevated loneliness trajectory were more likely to live alone and experience elevated psychological distress and greater COVID-19 perceived health threat compared to those in the stable-low trajectory. Participants in the fluctuating-moderate loneliness group were more likely to have multimorbidity, experience greater psychological distress, and have less frequent in-person interactions than the stable-low loneliness group. Assessing the combination of sociodemographic, health, psychological and social factors may help identify individuals at higher risk for chronic loneliness.

The impact of COVID-19 restrictions on older adults' loneliness: Evidence from high-frequency panel data in Austria (2020-2022)

BACKGROUND

It is unclear how strong and long lasting the effects of recurring COVID-19 pandemic restrictions are on older adults' loneliness.

METHODS

457 retired older Austrians (60+) provided 9,489 repeated observations of loneliness across 30 survey waves of the Austrian Corona Panel Project between March 2020 and March 2022. Ordinal mixed regression models were used to estimate the effect of time-varying country-level strictness of COVID-19 restrictions (stringency index, range=0-100) on older adult's loneliness.

RESULTS

The proportion of older adults who reported to be often lonely correlated (r = 0.45) with the stringency index over time: both peaked during lock-downs (stringency index = 82, often lonely = 10%-13%) and were lowest during the summer of 2020 (stringency index = 36, often lonely = 4%-6%). Results from regression models adjusted for the number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths indicate, that when the stringency index increased by one point, the odds for loneliness increased by 2%. Older adults who lived alone were more likely lonely during the pandemic and were more affected by COVID-19 restriction measures compared to those living with others.

CONCLUSIONS

More stringent COVID-19 restrictions were associated with an increase in (situational) loneliness among older adults in Austria, and this effect was stronger among those who lived alone. Efforts should be made to enable older adults, in particular those who live alone, to allow for save in-person contact in case of (future) periods of strict pandemic restriction measures.

The Impact of COVID-19 Household Isolation on Conflict and Cohesion in One-, Two-, and Three-Generation Households With Older Adults

The current cross-sectional study examined the effect of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) household isolation on household conflict and cohesion in one-, two-, and three-generation households with older adults (aged ≥65 years). Participants were 757 adults (aged ≥18 years) with at least one older adult in their household. Respondents were from 51 countries. Study variables were measured with the COVID-19 Household Environmental Scale. Non-parametric tests were used to assess differences between groups. Most participants (n = 437, 57.7%) lived in three-generation homes. Three-generation homes reported greater increases in conflict (p < 0.001) and cohesion (p < 0.001) during household isolation compared to oneand two-generation homes. Findings suggest that older adults living in multigenerational households experienced more cohesive and conflictive household environments as a function of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further research should explore how family or health care interventions could better support older adults and families as a unit of care to avoid adverse outcomes and boost resilience. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 49(4), 47-56.].

Surviving Through Solitude: A Prospective National Study of the Impact of the Early COVID-19 Pandemic and a Visiting Ban on Loneliness Among Nursing Home Residents in Sweden

OBJECTIVES

Targeted social distancing measures were widely implemented for nursing home residents when the extremely high coronavirus disease 2019 mortality in this setting became apparent. However, there is still scarce rigorous research examining how the pandemic and accompanying social distancing measures affected loneliness in this group. This prospective nationwide Swedish study of nursing home residents aimed to examine the impact on loneliness of the early phase of the pandemic and of a national visiting ban at nursing homes.

METHODS

A panel was selected from a total population survey of all nursing home residents in Sweden March-May 2019 and 2020 (N = 11,782; age range 70-110 years; mean age 88.2 years; 71% women). Prospective pretest-posttest and controlled interrupted time series (ITS) designs were employed, with time trends estimated by date of returned questionnaire. Generalized linear models were used for estimation of effects, adjusting for demographic-, survey-, and health-related covariates.

RESULTS

Loneliness prevalence increased from 17% to 19% from 2019 to 2020 (risk ratio, RR (95% confidence interval, CI) = 1.104 (1.060; 1.150)), but which was explained by self-reported health (RR (95% CI) = 1.023 (0.982; 1.066)). No additional impact of the visiting ban on loneliness trends was found in the ITS analyses (RR (95% CI) = 0.984 (0.961; 1.008)).

DISCUSSION

The moderate but health-dependent increased risk of loneliness, and the lack of impact of the nationwide visiting ban at nursing homes, suggests that this ostensibly vulnerable group of nursing home residents also shows signs of resilience, at least during the early phase of the pandemic.