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Comment
. 2020 Nov:293:113392.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113392. Epub 2020 Aug 17.

Three months of loneliness during the COVID-19 lockdown

William D S Killgore  1 , Sara A Cloonan  2 , Emily C Taylor  2 , Michael A Miller  2 , Natalie S Dailey  2
Affiliations
Comment

Three months of loneliness during the COVID-19 lockdown

William D S Killgore et al. Psychiatry Res. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

The majority of the U.S. population has been under stay-at-home restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 since March 2020. Over the first three months of restrictions, 3,121 U.S. adults completed the UCLA Loneliness Scale-3 and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Despite relaxation of lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders over that time, loneliness scores increased significantly, particularly from April to May 2020, and appear to have plateaued by June. Loneliness was correlated with depression and suicidal ideation at all time points and was most prevalent among individuals who reported that they were still under community restrictions to socially isolate due to the novel coronavirus. Loneliness remains elevated despite the reopening of many communities.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig. 1
Red Line: Mean loneliness scores increased significantly over three monthly assessments. Blue Bars: The percentage of participants exceeding the cut-off score for high loneliness increased significantly over the three monthly assessments. *p < .05, **p < 005. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

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