Depression and loneliness during April 2020 COVID-19 restrictions in the United States, and their associations with frequency of social and sexual connections.

Publisher: Springer International Country of Publication: Germany NLM ID: 8804358 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1433-9285 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 09337954 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: [Berlin] : Springer International, [c1988-

COVID-19* ; Depression*/epidemiology ; Loneliness* ; Sexual Behavior* ; Social Interaction*; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; United States/epidemiology ; Young Adult

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence of depression and loneliness during the US COVID-19 response, and examine their associations with frequency of social and sexual connections.
Methods: We conducted an online cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of American adults (n = 1010), aged 18-94, running from April 10-20, 2020. We assessed depressive symptoms (CES-D-10 scale), loneliness (UCLA 3-Item Loneliness scale), and frequency of in-person and remote social connections (4 items, e.g., hugging family member, video chats) and sexual connections (4 items, e.g., partnered sexual activity, dating app use).
Results: One-third of participants (32%) reported depressive symptoms, and loneliness was high [mean (SD): 4.4 (1.7)]. Those with depressive symptoms were more likely to be women, aged 20-29, unmarried, and low-income. Very frequent in-person connections were generally associated with lower depression and loneliness; frequent remote connections were not.
Conclusions: Depression and loneliness were elevated during the early US COVID-19 response. Those who maintained very frequent in-person, but not remote, social and sexual connections had better mental health outcomes. While COVID-19 social restrictions remain necessary, it will be critical to expand mental health services to serve those most at-risk and identify effective ways of maintaining social and sexual connections from a distance.

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Keywords: American adults; COVID-19; Depression; Loneliness; Social isolation

Date Created: 20210102 Date Completed: 20210628 Latest Revision: 20230811

20240105

PMC7778397

10.1007/s00127-020-02002-8

33386873