@article {11584, title = {Social isolation and loneliness before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study of US Adults over 50.}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology, Series B }, volume = {77}, year = {2022}, pages = {e185-e190}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: The potential impact of social distancing policies during the COVID-19 pandemic on social isolation and loneliness is of increasing global concern. Although many studies focus primarily on loneliness, patterns of social isolation-particularly physical and digital isolation-are understudied. We examined changes in social isolation, physical isolation, digital isolation, and loneliness in US adults over 50 before and during the lockdown.

METHODS: Two waves of the Health and Retirement Study, a national panel sample of US adults over 50 years old, were used. Fixed-effects regression models were fitted to identify within-person change from 2016 to 2020 to examine the impact of social distancing policies during the pandemic.

RESULTS: There was an increase in physical isolation and social isolation among respondents during the COVID-19 social distancing policies. However, respondents experienced no change in digital isolation or loneliness. The increase in physical isolation was only present for people with high COVID-19 concern whereas people with low concern experienced no change in physical isolation.

DISCUSSION: Despite an increase in physical isolation due to the social distancing policies, US adults aged over 50 stayed connected through digital contact and were resilient in protecting themselves from loneliness.

}, keywords = {COVID-19, Digital isolation, Mental Health, Social Relationships, Social Support}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbab068}, author = {Peng, Siyun and Roth, Adam R} }