Impact of Longitudinal Social Support and Loneliness Trajectories on Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in France

Sandy Laham, Leticia Bertuzzi, Séverine Deguen, Irwin Hecker, Maria Melchior, Martina Patanè, Irene Pinucci, Marit Sijbrandij and Judith van der Waerden
Additional contact information
Sandy Laham: Social Epidemiology Research Team, Institut Pierre Louis d’Épidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Sorbonne Université, INSERM U1136, 75012 Paris, France
Leticia Bertuzzi: Social Epidemiology Research Team, Institut Pierre Louis d’Épidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Sorbonne Université, INSERM U1136, 75012 Paris, France
Séverine Deguen: Social Epidemiology Research Team, Institut Pierre Louis d’Épidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Sorbonne Université, INSERM U1136, 75012 Paris, France
Irwin Hecker: Social Epidemiology Research Team, Institut Pierre Louis d’Épidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Sorbonne Université, INSERM U1136, 75012 Paris, France
Maria Melchior: Social Epidemiology Research Team, Institut Pierre Louis d’Épidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Sorbonne Université, INSERM U1136, 75012 Paris, France
Martina Patanè: World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Research and Dissemination of Psychological Interventions, Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Institute, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Irene Pinucci: World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Research and Dissemination of Psychological Interventions, Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Institute, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Marit Sijbrandij: World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Research and Dissemination of Psychological Interventions, Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Institute, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Judith van der Waerden: Social Epidemiology Research Team, Institut Pierre Louis d’Épidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Sorbonne Université, INSERM U1136, 75012 Paris, France

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 23, 1-15

Abstract: (1) Background: Little is known about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted social support and loneliness over time and how this may predict subsequent mental health problems. This study aims to determine longitudinal trajectories of social support and loneliness in the French general population during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and study whether variations in these trajectories are associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety; (2) Methods: Analyses were based on data from 681 French participants in the international COVID-19 Mental Health Study (COMET) study, collected at four periods of time between May 2020 and April 2021. Group-based trajectory modelling (GBTM) was used to determine social support and loneliness trajectories. Associations between the identified trajectories and symptoms of depression and anxiety, measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), were tested through multivariate linear regression models; (3) Results: Social support trajectories revealed four stable groups: ‘poor’ (17.0%), ‘moderate’ (42.4%), ‘strong’ (35.4%) and ‘very strong’ (5.1%). Loneliness trajectories also identified four groups: ‘low stable’ (17.8%), ‘low rising’ (40.2%), ‘moderate stable’ (37.6%) and ‘high rising’ (5.0%). Elevated symptoms of depression were associated with poor social support as well as all identified loneliness trajectories, while high levels of anxiety were associated with moderate stable and high rising loneliness trajectories; (4) Conclusions: High and increasing levels of loneliness are associated with increased symptoms of depression and anxiety during the pandemic. Interventions to address loneliness are essential to prevent common mental health problems during the pandemic and afterwards.

Keywords: COVID-19; social support; loneliness; longitudinal; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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