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. 2023 Oct 18;10(2):20551029231206764.
doi: 10.1177/20551029231206764. eCollection 2023 Jul-Dec.

Loneliness and happiness in the face of the COVID-19 lockdown: Examining the pathways through somatic symptoms and psychological distress

Babatola Dominic Olawa  1 , Erhabor Sunday Idemudia  2 , Benjamin Oluwabunmi Omolayo  1 , Judith Chineye Azikiwe  1
Affiliations

Loneliness and happiness in the face of the COVID-19 lockdown: Examining the pathways through somatic symptoms and psychological distress

Babatola Dominic Olawa et al. Health Psychol Open. .

Abstract

Studies show that loneliness was higher during the pandemic than in the pre-pandemic periods, with negative consequences on individual happiness. This study extends current knowledge by investigating the indirect effects of somatic symptoms and psychological distress in the loneliness-happiness relationship during the COVID-19 lockdown. The cross-sectional sample comprises 538 Nigerian adults (Meanage = 36.48 ± 12.03) with 43% females. Data were collected using structured self-report instruments and subjected to path analyses in SPSS AMOS. Results showed that loneliness and happiness were negatively related. Loneliness and happiness were indirectly related through the successive association between somatic symptoms and psychological distress. Specifically, greater loneliness was associated with increased somatic symptoms, which in turn were associated with greater psychological distress and reduced happiness levels. Clinicians can manage the decline in happiness from loneliness during the pandemic lockdown by administering treatments that mitigate somatic symptoms and psychological distress in concerned clients.

Keywords: COVID-19 lockdown; Loneliness; happiness; psychological distress; somatic symptoms.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Parallel model. Note: the indirect effect through psychological distress is shown in broken lines, while the indirect effect through somatic symptoms are indicated in unbroken lines.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Serial model A. Note: the indirect effect through the successive paths from psychological distress to somatic symptoms are indicated in broken lines.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Serial model B. Note: the indirect effect through the successive paths from somatic symptoms to psychological distress are indicated in broken lines.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Parallel and serial indirect effects by psychological distress and somatic symptoms. Note: Beta weights in parenthesis indicate the only changes in estimates for the serial inidre from psychological distress to somatic symptoms. Beta weights for demographic variables were not included in the model for better clarity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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