Can Changes in Social Contact (Frequency, Mode) Mitigate Low Mood Before and During the COVID ‐19 pandemic? I‐CONECT Project

Abstract Human behaviour is known to be crucial in the propagation of infectious diseases through respiratory or close-contact routes like the current SARS-CoV-2 virus. Intervention measures implemented to curb the spread of the virus mainly aim at limiting the number of close contacts, until vaccine roll-out is complete. Our main objective was to assess the relationships between SARS-CoV-2 perceptions and social contact behaviour in Belgium. Understanding these relationships is crucial to maximize interventions' effectiveness, e.g. by tailoring public health communication campaigns. In this study, we surveyed a representative sample of adults in Belgium in two longitudinal surveys (8 waves of survey 1 in April 2020 to August 2020, and 11 waves of survey 2 in November 2020 to April 2021). Generalized linear mixed effects models were used to analyse the two surveys. Participants with low and neutral perceptions on perceived severity made a significantly higher number of social contacts as compared to participants with high levels of perceived severity after controlling for other variables. Furthermore, participants with higher levels of perceived effectiveness of measures and perceived adherence to measures made fewer contacts. However, the differences were small. Our results highlight the key role of perceived severity on social contact behaviour during a pandemic. Nevertheless, additional research is required to investigate the impact of public health communication on severity of COVID-19 in terms of changes in social contact behaviour.

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Happiness and Cognitive Impairment Among Older Adults: Investigating the Mediational Roles of Disability, Depression, Social Contact Frequency, and Loneliness

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16244954 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (24) ◽

pp. 4954

Author(s):

Jit Hui Tan ◽

Edimansyah Abdin ◽

Shazana Shahwan ◽

Yunjue Zhang ◽

Rajeswari Sambasivam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Adult Population ◽

Social Contact ◽

Positive Association ◽

Well Being ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Mediation Analyses ◽

Frequency Of Contact ◽

Contact Frequency

Background: Understanding the lower level of happiness among older adults with cognitive impairment has been a largely neglected issue. This study (1) reports on the level of happiness among older adults in Singapore and (2) examines the potential mediating roles of depression, disability, social contact frequency, and loneliness in the relationship between cognitive scores and happiness. Methods: Data for this study were extracted from the Well-being of the Singapore Elderly (WiSE) study: a cross-sectional; comprehensive single-phase survey conducted among Singapore citizens and permanent residents that were aged 60 years and above (n = 2565). The Geriatric Mental State examination (GMS) was administered to the participants. Questions pertaining to socio-demographic characteristics; happiness; loneliness; social contact; depression; and, disability were utilized in this study. Logistic regression analyses and mediation analyses were used to explore the correlates of happiness and potential mediating factors. Results: Overall, 96.2% of older adults in Singapore reported feeling either fairly happy or very happy. In the regression analysis, individuals of Malay descent, those who were married/cohabiting, or had higher education levels were more likely to report feeling happy. After controlling for socio-demographic factors, higher cognitive scores were associated with higher odds of reporting happiness. We found that the positive association between cognition and happiness was fully mediated by disability, depression, loneliness, and frequency of contact with friends. Conclusion: The majority of the older adult population reported feeling fairly or very happy. While cognitive impairment has shown limited reversibility in past studies, unhappiness among older adults with cognitive impairment might be potentially mitigated through interventions addressing accompanying issues of social isolation, disability, and depression

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Association between social contact frequency and negative symptoms, psychosocial functioning and quality of life in patients with schizophrenia

Psychiatry Research ◽

10.1016/j.psychres.2015.11.039 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 230 (3) ◽

pp. 860-866 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Karin Siegrist ◽

Aurelie Millier ◽

Ikbal Amri ◽

Samuel Aballéa ◽

Mondher Toumi

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Psychosocial Functioning ◽

Negative Symptoms ◽

Social Contact ◽

Contact Frequency

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Getting together: Social contact frequency across the life span.

Developmental Psychology ◽

10.1037/dev0000349 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 53 (8) ◽

pp. 1571-1588 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Julia Sander ◽

Jürgen Schupp ◽

David Richter

Keyword(s):

Life Span ◽

Social Contact ◽

Contact Frequency

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Social contact frequency and all-cause mortality: A meta-analysis and meta-regression

Social Science & Medicine ◽

10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.01.010 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 128 ◽

pp. 76-86 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Eran Shor ◽

David J. Roelfs

Keyword(s):

Meta Analysis ◽

Social Contact ◽

Contact Frequency ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Meta Regression

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Internet Use and Loneliness of Older Adults Over Time: the mediating effect of social contact

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/gbaa004 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kexin Yu ◽

Shinyi Wu ◽

Iris Chi

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Older People ◽

Hierarchical Linear Modeling ◽

Internet Use ◽

Social Contact ◽

Mediating Effect ◽

Linear Modeling ◽

Mediation Effects ◽

Contact Frequency ◽

Longitudinal Association

Abstract Objectives The internet is increasingly commonly used by older adults. However, it remains controversial in the literature on whether older people are more or less lonely with internet adoption. The current paper aims to test the longitudinal association of internet use and loneliness and to theorize the relationship by examining the mediating effect of social contact. Method This study employed data from 2006, 2010, and 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Loneliness was measured with the three-item UCLA loneliness scale, social contact was operationalized as contact frequency with family and friends, and internet use was measured using a self-assessed dichotomous item. Longitudinal associations and mediation effects were tested using hierarchical linear modeling. Results Internet use was associated with decreased loneliness over an 8-year period (b = −0.049, p < .001) and more social contact (b = 0.285, p < .001), which was related to lower perceived loneliness (b = -0.088, p < .001). On a scale ranges from 0 to 2 (0=never lonely, 2=often lonely), the total effect of internet use on loneliness was −0.060, and the mediated effect was −0.025. Discussion These findings imply that internet use may be an effective tool for reducing loneliness in older people by maintaining social contact.

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Preliminary Assessment of the Behavioral Activation Model in Japanese Undergraduate Students

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/02.15.21.pr0.112.1.47-59 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 112 (1) ◽

pp. 47-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Koki Takagaki ◽

Isa Okajima ◽

Shun Nakajima ◽

Shin-Ichi Ishikawa ◽

Yoshihiko Kunisato ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Undergraduate Students ◽

Positive Reinforcement ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Behavioral Activation ◽

Social Contact ◽

Depressive Mood ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Activation Model ◽

School Students ◽

Contact Frequency

Many studies have reported that behavioral activation is an effective intervention for depression. The behavioral activation model is based on several formulations. For example, depressive mood leads to avoidant behaviors, avoidance negatively affects social contacts, decreased socialization lessens opportunities for positive reinforcement, and a decrease in positive reinforcement results in more depressive mood. The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among avoidant behavior, social contact, frequency of positive reinforcement, and depressive mood by using structural equation modeling to assess support for aspects of this behavioral activation model. Participants were 630 Japanese undergraduate students and vocational school students. Results provided preliminary support for the model. Treating both avoidance and activating behavior might contribute to decreased impairment.

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Social contact patterns of school-age children in Taiwan: comparison of the term time and holiday periods

Epidemiology and Infection ◽

10.1017/s0950268814001915 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 143 (6) ◽

pp. 1139-1147 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

S.-C. CHEN ◽

Z.-S. YOU

Keyword(s):

Influenza Pandemic ◽

Social Contact ◽

School Closure ◽

School Age Children ◽

Individual Student ◽

School Age ◽

Skin Contact ◽

Contact Patterns ◽

Contact Behaviour ◽

Contact Frequency

SUMMARYSchool closure is one of the most common interventions in the early weeks of an influenza pandemic. Few studies have investigated social contact patterns and compared individual student contact characteristics during the school term and holiday periods in Taiwan. Here, we conducted a well-used questionnaire survey in a junior high school (grades 7–8) in June 2013. All 150 diary-based effective questionnaires covering conversation and skin-to-skin contact behaviour were surveyed. Two questionnaires for each participant were designed to investigate the individual-level difference of contact numbers per day during the two periods. The questionnaire response rate was 44%. The average number of contacts during term time (20·0 contacts per day) and holiday periods (12·6 contacts per day) were significantly different (P < 0·05). The dominant contact frequencies and duration were everyday contact (89·10%) and contacts lasting less than 5 minutes (37·09%). The greatest differences occurred within the 13–19 years age groups. The result presented in this study provide an indication of the likely reduction in daily contact frequency that might occur if a school closure policy was adopted in the event of an influenza pandemic in Taiwan. Comparing contact patterns during term time and holiday periods, the number of contacts decreased by 40%. This study is the first research to investigate the contact numbers and contact characteristics for school-age children during the school term and a holiday period in Taiwan. With regard to public health, this study could provide the basic contact information and database for modelling influenza epidemics for minimizing the spread of influenza that depends on personal contacts for transmission.

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Social relationships and depression during the COVID-19 lockdown: longitudinal analysis of the COVID-19 social study

10.1101/2020.12.01.20241950 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Andrew Sommerlad ◽

Louise Marston ◽

Jonathan Huntley ◽

Gill Livingston ◽

Gemma Lewis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Perspective Taking ◽

Odds Ratio ◽

Social Contact ◽

Social Study ◽

Empathic Concern ◽

Face To Face ◽

Contact Frequency

AbstractBackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic led to social and physical distancing measures that reduced social contact and support. We explored whether people with more frequent and supportive social contact had fewer depressive symptoms during the UK Spring 2020 ‘lockdown’, whether this applied to face-to-face and remote electronic contact, and whether people with higher empathy levels, or more frequent pre-COVID social contact with others were more protected.MethodsUK dwelling participants aged ≥18 in the internet-based longitudinal COVID-19 Social Study completed up to 22 weekly questionnaires about frequency of face-to-face and phone/video social contact, perceived social support, and depressive symptoms assessed with the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9). Mixed linear models examined associations between social contact and support, and depressive symptoms. We examined for interaction by empathic concern and perspective taking and pre-COVID social contact frequency.ResultsIn 71,117 people with mean age 49 years (standard deviation 15) we found that daily face-to-face or phone/video contact was associated with lower PHQ-9 scores (mean difference 0.258 (95% confidence interval 0.225, 0.290) and 0.117 (0.080, 0.154) respectively) compared to having no contact. Those with high social support scored 1.836 (1.801, 1.871) PHQ-9 points lower than those with low support. The odds ratio for depression for those with daily face-to-face social contact compared to no face-to-face contact was 0.712 (0.678, 0.747). Daily compared to no phone/video contact was associated with odds ratio for depression 0.825 (0.779, 0.873). And reporting high, compared to low, social support was associated with 0.145 (95%CI 0.138, 0.152) odds ratio for depression. The negative association between social relationships and depressive symptoms was stronger for those with high empathic concern, perspective taking and usual sociability.ConclusionsThose who had more face-to-face contact during lockdown had fewer depressive symptoms. Phone or video communication were beneficial but less so. People who were usually more sociable or had higher empathy were more likely to have depressive symptoms during enforced reduced social contact. Results have implications both for our management of COVID-19 and potential future pandemics, and for our understanding of the relationship between social factors and mental health.

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