Publication type
Journal Article
Authors
Publication date
June 15, 2024
Summary:
This paper investigates the role of pre-pandemic levels of social interactions in mitigating the impact of mobility restrictions, implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19, on feelings of loneliness. Using individual-level data from the U.K. Household Longitudinal Study (U.K.HLS) on ’Understanding Society,’ we analyze the relationship between loneliness and both neighborhood social cohesion and individual social networks, both before and during the pandemic. Our analysis reveals that both social cohesion in the neighborhood where people live and good social relations (i.e., having close friends) play a protective role in alleviating the adverse effects of pandemic-related restrictions on loneliness. On the contrary, we do not find evidence of benefits coming from time spent on digital social networks. This underscores the critical importance of fostering and maintaining in person social connections, even in the face of challenges posed by the pandemic.
Published in
Socio-Economic Planning Sciences
Volume
Volume: 93:101913
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seps.2024.101913
ISSN
380121
Subjects
#578276