Age Differences in COVID-19 Stress and Social Ties during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Well-being

Abstract The experience of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and its implications for well-being may vary widely by age group across the adult lifespan. The purpose of this study was to examine age differences in stress related to the pandemic and social ties, and whether those experiences are linked to well-being. Participants included a total of 645 adults (43% women) ages 18 to 97 (M = 50.8; SD = 17.7) from the May 2020 nationally representative Survey of Consumers. Participants reported the extent to which they felt stress related to the pandemic in the last month as well as social isolation, negative relationship quality, positive relationship quality, and frequent depression, anxiety and rumination in the past week. Results showed that older people reported less COVID-19 related stress, less social isolation, and lower negative relationship quality than younger people. Greater stress, social isolation, and negative relationship quality were associated with poorer well-being and greater social isolation, and negative quality ties exacerbated the effects of stress on well-being. Although many researchers have indicated that older adults may be more vulnerable to COVID-19 related stress and social isolation, this study indicates that young adults may be relatively more vulnerable. Because isolation and negative relationship quality appear to exacerbate the effects of stress, reducing social isolation and negative relations are potential targets for intervention.

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Age Differences in Stress, Life Changes, and Social Ties During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Psychological Well-Being

The Gerontologist ◽

10.1093/geront/gnaa204 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kira S Birditt ◽

Angela Turkelson ◽

Karen L Fingerman ◽

Courtney A Polenick ◽

Akari Oya

Keyword(s):

Relationship Quality ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Age Differences ◽

Social Ties ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Well Being ◽

Life Change ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

Adult Lifespan ◽

Related Stress

Abstract Background and Objectives Experiences of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus 2019) pandemic and its implications for psychological well-being may vary widely across the adult lifespan. The present study examined age differences in pandemic-related stress and social ties, and links with psychological well-being. Research Design and Methods Participants included 645 adults (43% women) ages 18 to 97 (M = 50.8; SD = 17.7) from the May 2020 nationally representative Survey of Consumers. Participants reported the extent to which they felt stress related to the pandemic in the last month, the extent to which their lives had changed due to the pandemic, as well as social isolation, negative relationship quality, positive relationship quality, and frequency of depression, anxiety and rumination in the past week. Results Results showed that older people reported less pandemic-related stress, less life change, less social isolation, and lower negative relationship quality than younger people. Greater pandemic-related stress, life change, social isolation, and negative relationship quality were associated with poorer psychological well-being. Poorer social ties (i.e., greater social isolation, and negative quality) exacerbated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (stress, life change) on psychological well-being. Discussion and Implications Researchers have indicated that older adults may be more vulnerable to COVID-19 pandemic-related stress and social isolation, but this study indicates that young adults may be relatively more vulnerable. Because isolation and negative relationship quality appear to exacerbate the deleterious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychological well-being, reducing social isolation and negative relations are potential targets for intervention.

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Race Differences in COVID-19 Stress and Social Isolation: Implications for Depressive Symptoms

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.1973 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 513-513

Author(s):

Akari Oya ◽

Angela Turkelson ◽

Courtney Polenick ◽

Karen Fingerman ◽

Kira Birditt

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Minority Groups ◽

Well Being ◽

Race Differences ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

Related Stress ◽

Racial Ethnic ◽

Over Time

Abstract The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic may vary widely by race. This study examined race differences in pandemic-related stress, social isolation and the implications for well-being. Participants included 1260 adults (45% women) ages 18 to 97 from the May and June 2020 nationally representative Survey of Consumers and 562 who completed a 6 month follow up in November/December. A total of 76% were White, 10% were Black, 3% were Asian, and 11% were Hispanic. Participants reported experiences of pandemic-related stress, social isolation and depressive symptoms in the last month. Analyses showed that minority groups reported greater pandemic related stress that had negative implications for depressive symptoms over time. The implication of social isolation for the stress-depressive symptoms link also varied by race. Overall this study showed racial inequities in the implications of COVID-19 pandemic and that reducing social isolation may only be beneficial for certain racial/ethnic groups.

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Relationship Quality Among Older Cohabitors: A Comparison to Remarrieds

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/gbz069 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 75 (8) ◽

pp. 1808-1817

Author(s):

Matthew R Wright

Keyword(s):

Relationship Quality ◽

Positive Relationship ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Later Life ◽

Well Being ◽

Poor Quality ◽

Two Measures ◽

Using Data ◽

Union Type ◽

Quality Relationships

Abstract Objectives Later life marital patterns have undergone shifts over the past few decades, including a rapid growth of cohabiting unions. Despite the increase in older adult cohabitation, research on this population has been slow to keep up. Intimate relationships are linked to well-being and relationship quality is especially important because high-quality relationships offer a number of benefits for well-being, whereas poor-quality relationships often are detrimental. This study compares cohabiting and remarried individuals on two measures of relationship quality. Method Using data from the 2010 and 2012 Health and Retirement Study, I investigate the positive and negative relationship quality of cohabitors relative to their remarried counterparts and whether the association of union type and relationship quality varies by race. Results Across both positive and negative relationship quality, I found few differences between cohabiting and remarried individuals. Black cohabitors report higher positive relationship quality than remarrieds, whereas White cohabitors and remarrieds do not differ. Discussion These findings suggest that cohabiting unions and remarriages are comparable among White older adults, but that Black cohabitors may gain more in terms of positive relationship quality than their remarried counterparts.

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The effects of social isolation on well-being and life satisfaction during pandemic

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications ◽

10.1057/s41599-021-00710-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ruta Clair ◽

Maya Gordon ◽

Matthew Kroon ◽

Carolyn Reilly

Keyword(s):

Life Satisfaction ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Extended Period ◽

Well Being ◽

Modern World ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

Work Related ◽

Related Stress ◽

Perceived Social Isolation

AbstractThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic placed many locations under ‘stay at home” orders and adults simultaneously underwent a form of social isolation that is unprecedented in the modern world. Perceived social isolation can have a significant effect on health and well-being. Further, one can live with others and still experience perceived social isolation. However, there is limited research on psychological well-being during a pandemic. In addition, much of the research is limited to older adult samples. This study examined the effects of perceived social isolation in adults across the age span. Specifically, this study documented the prevalence of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the various factors that contribute to individuals of all ages feeling more or less isolated while they are required to maintain physical distancing for an extended period of time. Survey data was collected from 309 adults who ranged in age from 18 to 84. The measure consisted of a 42 item survey from the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, Measures of Social Isolation (Zavaleta et al., 2017), and items specifically about the pandemic and demographics. Items included both Likert scale items and open-ended questions. A “snowball” data collection process was used to build the sample. While the entire sample reported at least some perceived social isolation, young adults reported the highest levels of isolation, χ2(2) = 27.36, p < 0.001. Perceived social isolation was associated with poor life satisfaction across all domains, as well as work-related stress, and lower trust of institutions. Higher levels of substance use as a coping strategy was also related to higher perceived social isolation. Respondents reporting higher levels of subjective personal risk for COVID-19 also reported higher perceived social isolation. The experience of perceived social isolation has significant negative consequences related to psychological well-being.

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Love in the Time of Covid: Perceived Partner Responsiveness Buffers People from Lower Relationship Quality Associated with Covid-Related Stressors

10.31234/osf.io/e3fh4 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Rhonda Nicole Balzarini ◽

Amy Muise ◽

Giulia Zoppolat ◽

Alyssa Di Bartolomeo ◽

David L. Rodrigues ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Relationship Quality ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Romantic Relationship ◽

Well Being ◽

Financial Strain ◽

Perceived Partner Responsiveness ◽

Partner Responsiveness ◽

Health And Well Being

Maintaining a satisfying romantic relationship is vital to overall health and well-being, yet relationship quality might be hampered by stressors brought on by the recent Covid-19 pandemic. In the Love in the Time of Covid study, we examine whether Covid-related stressors (i.e., social isolation, financial strain, and stress) are associated with lower relationship quality and greater conflict in relationships, and test whether perceived partner responsiveness—the extent to which people believe their partner understands, validates, and cares for them—buffers these effects. In the current study (N = 3,593 participants from 57 countries), when people reported more Covid-related stressors, they also reported poorer relationship quality and more conflict with their partner. However, these associations were mitigated when people perceived their partner as more responsive to their needs.

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Economic precarity, social isolation, and suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic

10.1101/2020.10.05.20205955 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Julia Raifman ◽

Catherine K. Ettman ◽

Lorraine Dean ◽

Colleen Barry ◽

Sandro Galea

Keyword(s):

Suicidal Ideation ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Low Income ◽

Job Loss ◽

Well Being ◽

Health And Nutrition ◽

The Us ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

Policies And Programs ◽

The Relationship

AbstractImportanceThe US population faces stressors associated with suicide brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding the relationship between stressors and suicidal ideation may inform policies and programs to prevent suicide.ObjectiveTo evaluate the relationship between stressors and suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic.DesignWe compared suicidal ideation in 2017-2018 to suicidal ideation in 2020. We estimated the association between stressors and suicidal ideation in bivariable and multivariable Poisson regression models with robust variance.SettingUnited StatesParticipantsParticipants were from two, nationally representative surveys of US adults: The 2017-2017 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the 2020 COVID-19 and Life Stressors Impact on Mental Health and Well-being study (conducted March 31 to April 13), analyzed April 28 to September 30, 2020.ExposuresEconomic precarity as measured through job loss or difficulty paying rent and social isolation based on reporting “feeling alone.”Main outcome measureSuicidal ideation based on reporting “Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way” over the past two weeks.ResultsSuicidal ideation increased more than fourfold, from 3.4% in the 2017-2018 NHANES to 16.3% in the 2020 CLIMB survey, and from 5.8% to 26.4% among participants in low-income households. Suicidal ideation was more prevalent among people facing difficulty paying rent (31.5%), job loss (24.1%), and loneliness (25.1%), with each stressor associated with suicidal ideation in bivariable models. In the multivariable model, difficulty paying rent was associated with suicidal ideation (aPR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.2 to 2.1), while losing a job was not (aPR: 0.9, 95% CI: 0.6 to 1.2). Feeling alone was associated with suicidal ideation (aPR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.5 to 2.4).Conclusions and relevanceSuicidal ideation increased more than fourfold during the COVID-19 pandemic. Difficulty paying rent and loneliness were most associated with suicidal ideation. Policies and programs to support people experiencing economic precarity and loneliness may contribute to suicide prevention.

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How does social isolation in a context of dirty work increase emotional exhaustion and inhibit work engagement? A process model

Personnel Review ◽

10.1108/pr-09-2016-0227 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 46 (8) ◽

pp. 1620-1634 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Kathleen Bentein ◽

Alice Garcia ◽

Sylvie Guerrero ◽

Olivier Herrbach

Keyword(s):

Social Isolation ◽

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Work Engagement ◽

Process Model ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Well Being ◽

Dirty Work ◽

Content Type ◽

The Social ◽

Perceived Social Isolation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the consequences of experiencing social isolation in a context of dirty work. Relying on an integration of the job demands-resources model (Schaufeli and Bakker, 2004) with the social identity approach (Ashforth and Kreiner, 1999), the paper posits that perceived social isolation prevents the development of defense mechanisms that could counter the occupational stigma, and thus tends to increase perceptions of stigmatization, and to decrease perceptions of the prosocial impact of their work. Through these two perceptions, perceived social isolation indirectly affects emotional exhaustion and work engagement. Design/methodology/approach Research hypotheses are tested among a sample of 195 workers in the commercial cleaning industry who execute physically tainted tasks. Findings Results support the research model. Perceived prosocial impact mediates the negative relationship between perceived social isolation and work engagement, and perceived stigmatization mediates the positive relationship between perceived social isolation and emotional exhaustion. Research limitations/implications This research contributes to the dirty work literature by empirically examining one of its implicit assumptions, namely, that social isolation prevents the development of coping strategies. It also contributes to the literature on well-being and work engagement by demonstrating how they are affected by the social context of work. Originality/value The present paper is the first to study the specific challenges of social isolation in dirty work occupations and its consequences.

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Age Differences in Emotion Globalizing Across the Adult Lifespan

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.2198 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 576-576

Author(s):

Meaghan Barlow

Keyword(s):

Age Differences ◽

Successful Aging ◽

Positive Emotion ◽

Satisfaction With Life ◽

Negative Emotion ◽

Well Being ◽

Older Individuals ◽

Adult Lifespan ◽

Aging Theories ◽

Age Related

Abstract Emotion globalizing, the extent to which current emotions impact satisfaction with life, is associated with poorer psychological well-being. Given extant aging theories and research highlighting age-related changes in emotional experiences and emotion regulation, the present study examined age differences in positive and negative emotion globalizing across the adult lifespan. Participants (N = 145 females; aged 23-79) completed assessments of positive emotion (i.e., amused, energetic, calm, happy, interested, excited, and content), negative emotion (i.e., anxious, lonely, sad, annoyed, angry, and distressed), and life satisfaction for 16 days. Multilevel model analyses revealed age differences in negative, but not positive, emotion globalizing. More specifically, older individuals reported lower levels of negative emotion globalizing, as compared to younger individuals. These findings highlight the need to explore downstream consequences of emotion globalizing across the lifespan, as this could unveil novel pathways towards successful aging.

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Investigating Adult Age Differences in real-life Empathy, Prosociality, and Well-being using Experience Sampling

10.31219/osf.io/3f78n ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lena Pollerhoff ◽

Julia Stietz ◽

Gregory John Depow ◽

Michael Inzlicht ◽

Philipp Kanske ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prosocial Behavior ◽

Age Differences ◽

Real Life ◽

Experience Sampling ◽

Well Being ◽

Age Effects ◽

Adult Age ◽

Adult Lifespan ◽

Age Related ◽

Adult Age Differences

While the importance of social affect and cognition is indisputable throughout the adult lifespan, findings of how empathy and prosociality develop and interact across adulthood are mixed, and real-life data are scarce. Research using ecological momentary assessment recently demonstrated that adults commonly experience empathy in daily life. Furthermore, predictors of empathy were linked to higher prosocial behavior and subjective well-being. However, to date, it is not clear whether there are adult age differences in daily empathy and daily prosociality and whether age moderates the relationship between empathy and prosociality across adulthood. Here we analyzed experience-sampling data collected from participants across the adult lifespan to study age effects on empathy, prosocial behavior, and well-being under real-life circumstances. Linear and quadratic age effects were found for the experience of empathy, with increased empathy across the three younger age groups (18 to 45 years) and a slight decrease in the oldest group (55 years and older). Neither prosocial behavior nor well-being showed significant age-related differences. We discuss these findings with respect to (partially discrepant) results derived from lab-based or traditional survey studies. We conclude that studies linking in-lab experiments with real-life experience-sampling might be a promising venue for future lifespan studies.

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THE ISOLATION OF OLDER ADULTS: A COMPARISON OF JAPANESE GENDERS AND HOUSEHOLDS

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.1943 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S528-S528

Author(s):

Keiko Katagiri

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Well Being ◽

White Paper ◽

Network Size ◽

Single Male ◽

Older Couples ◽

Social Network Size ◽

Nationally Representative

Abstract As the aging population increases, large changes have occurred among household structures in Japan. Half of older adults lived with their children’s families in 1980. Now around 60 percent of them live by themselves: 27% in single households and 31% as older couples alone. Older adults in single households are said to be at higher risk of social isolation. A Japanese white paper reported that they had scanty of social interactions compared to other types of households. This study examines differences in the social relationships and health statuses among household types by gender and explores the risk factors of social isolation. Nationally representative 2012 Japanese Social Survey data were used for analyses; a subsample comprised participants aged 60 to 74 years. A series of ANCOVAs were conducted. The distribution of the gender and household types were single male 105 (10.0%), married male 387 (36.8%), single female 180 (17.1%), and married female 381 (36.2%); the main effects were being female and married. An interaction effect between them (single males were less happy than married males) was observed. Neighborhood relationships were better among females and married participants. Married participants were more active in community meetings, social participation, and volunteering. However, no difference was observed in social network size. Thus, network size alone was not related to social isolation, but being active in social relationships and the quality of relationships influenced social isolation and well-being. Being married and female may facilitate higher quality relationships and may lead to activity and buffer social isolation.

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