Loneliness, Wellbeing, and Social Activity in Scottish Older Adults Resulting from Social Distancing during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study examined the impact of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic on loneliness, wellbeing, and social activity, including social support, in Scottish older adults. A mixed methods online survey was used to examine these factors during social distancing mid-lockdown, July 2020. Participants were asked to state whether loneliness, wellbeing, social activity, and social support had changed since pre-social distancing, and to provide details of strategies used to keep socially active. A total of 1429 adults (84% aged 60+ years) living in Scotland took part. The majority reported that social distancing regulations made them experience more loneliness and less social contact and support. Loneliness during lockdown was higher than reported norms for this age group before the pandemic. A larger social network, more social contact, and better perceived social support seemed to be protective against loneliness and poor wellbeing. Positive coping strategies reported included increasing online social contact with both existing social networks and reconnecting with previous networks, as well as increasing contact with neighbours and people in the community. This underlines the importance of addressing loneliness and social support in older adults but particularly during situations where risk of isolation is high.

Keywords: loneliness; social isolation; social network; social support; wellbeing.

Figure 1

Phases of Scotland’s 2020 lockdown; advice comparison for persons not shielding versus persons shielding in relation to data collection for this study.

Figure 2

Associations with loneliness (UCLA, left) and wellbeing (EQ5D-3L, right) for categorical variables included in the model: sleep quantity, physical activity level, rurality, and gender. The dashed line indicates the model intercept (the model average when everything is kept at the reference category). The estimates have been transformed to match the outcome scale, for ease of interpretation.

Figure 3

Associations with loneliness (UCLA) for continuous and ordinal variables on the outcome scale, from top left to bottom right: age, deprivation quintile, social network size, social time. From bottom left to bottom right: perceived social support (BPSSQ score), health rating, self-reported walking, and screen time. The dashed line indicates the model intercept (the model average when all other covariates are kept at their average/reference level).

Figure 4

Associations with wellbeing (EQ5D-3L) for continuous and ordinal variables on the outcome scale, from top left to bottom right: age, deprivation quintile, social network size, social time. From bottom left to bottom right: perceived social support (BPSSQ score), health rating, self-reported walking, and screen timeThe dashed line indicates the model intercept (the model average when all other covariates are kept at their average/reference level).