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Review
. 2022 Aug:46:101315.
doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101315. Epub 2022 Mar 10.

One year on: What we have learned about the psychological effects of COVID-19 social restrictions: A meta-analysis

Laura Knox  1 , Gery C Karantzas  2 , Daniel Romano  1 , Judith A Feeney  3 , Jeffry A Simpson  4
Affiliations
Review

One year on: What we have learned about the psychological effects of COVID-19 social restrictions: A meta-analysis

Laura Knox et al. Curr Opin Psychol. 2022 Aug.

Abstract

This article reports on the first meta-analysis of studies on the association between government-imposed social restrictions and mental health outcomes published during the initial year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirty-three studies (N = 131,844) were included. Social restrictions were significantly associated with increased mental health symptoms overall (d = .41 [CI 95% .17-.65]), including depression (d = .83 [CI 95% .30-1.37]), stress (d = .21 [CI 95% .01-.42]) and loneliness (d = .30 [CI 95% .07-.52]), but not anxiety (d= .26 [CI 95% -.04-.56]). Subgroup analyses demonstrated that the strictness and length of restrictions had divergent effects on mental health outcomes, but there are concerns regarding study quality. The findings provide critical insights for future research on the effects of COVID-19 social restrictions.

Keywords: COVID-19; Lockdown; Loneliness; Mental health; Meta-analysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement Nothing declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA study selection flowchart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Funnel plot of all studies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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