As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic approaches 18 months of devastation, conflict, and fallout, concerns of population mental health effects are warranted and continue to grow. Isolation measures were paramount to infection control in the pre-vaccine era of the pandemic, and still retain importance even as immunizations are distributed globally at varying rates. An unfortunate byproduct of these urgent and necessary measures does include ipso facto reduction in physical social interaction on a society-wide scale. As result, researchers and clinicians are concerned with potential ramifications that this manner of induced loneliness may have on individuals’ mental health and well-being. This study aims to address the impacts and associations of isolation on young adults in the COVID-19 pandemic by examining loneliness, mental health, and substance use patterns.
The study’s sample is comprised of 1,008 young adults aged 18-35, recruited from a nationally distributed online survey platform between the dates of April 22 and May 11, 2020. Participants to a series of questionnaires which assessed the following measures: demographics, residence type, loneliness (via UCLA Loneliness scale), alcohol use (via Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test), other substance use (via Drug Abuse Screening Test), anxiety (via Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire), depression (via Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale), social connectedness (via Social Connectedness Scale), and self-perceived changes in the aforementioned variables pre- and post-COVID-19 lockdowns. The data was analyzed using structural equation models.
Results of the data analysis found roughly half of the sample reporting significant loneliness scores (49%), and 30% reporting dangerous forms of alcohol consumption (30%). Binge drinking occurred at least monthly in 44% of participants, and harmful substance use occurred in 38%. Regarding internalizing symptoms, 62% of participants could be classified as reporting moderate to severe anxiety, and 79% showed significant scores for depression. Loneliness was found to be directly related to dangerous alcohol and other substance use, anxiety, and depression. In general, the pre-pandemic scores of these symptoms were perceived to be increased after the pandemic declaration according to the participant’s comparison self-measures.
Takeaway: loneliness scores in young adults measured during the COVID-19 pandemic are suggested to be associated with harmful substance use behaviors and internalizing symptoms. Mental health care during “pandemic times” may benefit from a holistic approach in the treatment of individuals suffering from loneliness.