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

• Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Vol. 56; no. 7; pp. 1221 - 1232
• Main Authors: Rosenberg, Molly, Luetke, Maya, Hensel, Devon, Kianersi, Sina, Fu, Tsung-chieh, Herbenick, Debby
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.07.2021; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression - epidemiology; Epidemiology; Female; Health aspects; Humans; Loneliness; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental depression; Mental health; Middle Aged; Original Paper; Psychiatric services; Psychiatry; Sexual Behavior; Social Interaction; Surveys; United States - epidemiology; Young Adult; United States; United States > US; COVID-19; Loneliness; Depression; American adults; Social isolation
• ISSN: 0933-7954; 1433-9285; 1433-9285
• DOI: 10.1007/s00127-020-02002-8

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.