Loneliness and associated factors among older adults during COVID-19 lockdown in Spain

Eva González Ortega; Ruth Pinedo González; Isabel Vicario-Molina; Andrés Palacios Picos; Mª Begoña Orgaz Baz

doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2023.101547

Loneliness and associated factors among older adults during COVID-19 lockdown in Spain

J Appl Dev Psychol. 2023 May-Jun:86:101547. doi: 10.1016/j.appdev.2023.101547. Epub 2023 Apr 25.

Authors

Eva González Ortega¹, Ruth Pinedo González², Isabel Vicario-Molina¹, Andrés Palacios Picos², Mª Begoña Orgaz Baz³

Affiliations

¹ Departamento de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación, Universidad de Salamanca, Avenida de la Merced S/N, Salamanca 37005, Spain.
² Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de Valladolid, Plaza de la Universidad 1, Segovia 40005, Spain.
³ Departamento de Psicología Básica, Psicobiología y Metodología de las Ciencias del Comportamiento, Universidad de Salamanca, Avenida de la Merced S/N, Salamanca 37005, Spain.

Abstract

Considering the health outcomes of loneliness, it is important to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for older adults to facilitate detection and intervention. The aim of this study was to examine loneliness among Spanish older adults during the first wave lockdown and associated factors, in comparison to younger adults. An online survey was completed by 3508 adults (401 aged 60 or above). Older adults felt higher social loneliness than younger adults, but lower emotional loneliness. Living alone, poor mental health, and poor healthy habits were related to higher loneliness for both age groups. The results suggest that loneliness should be an important factor in primary care, and prevention efforts should be taken, e.g., by generating open and safe community spaces and contexts for social interaction and promoting the access and ability to use technologies that maintain social connections.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coping; Crisis; Loneliness; Mental health; Older adults.