Adams, Lauren

Cooper, A Bell

Cooper, Patrick J

Pauletti, Rachel E

Rodrigues, Andrew

English

Lynn University: SPIRAL (Scholarly Publications, Institutional Repository and Archives at Lynn)

RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION TEMPLATE © 2019www.PosterPresentations.comIntroductionA growing body of research suggests that adverse mentalhealth outcomes stem from the restrictions in lifestyle that theCOVID-19 pandemic has brought on.• Pancani et al., (2021) empathizes that improper socializationleads to a cognitive decline. Social disconnection can inducenegative emotions such as anger and sadness.• While social distancing was associated with more psychologicaldistress, fear of economic uncertainty seemed to predict morevariability in anxiety, depression, and life satisfaction in adults(Kämpfen et al., 2020).• Reizer et al. (2021) suggest that an intolerance of uncertainty isassociated with psychological distress in parents who arerequired to work from home due to social distancingrequirements.• Best et al. (2020) found an association between social distancingand psychological distress, and this varied as a function ofeducation. Specifically, those without at least a college degreeexperience more distress.• Kirpinar (2020) suggests that it is not social distancing itself, butthe failure to maintain a personal support network, that makesone more likely to suffer from cognitive distortions, includingfeelings of insecurity, helplessness, and uncertainty.Research QuestionParticipants Analysis DiscussionReferencesThe purpose of this study is to build on this body of researchby asking, “Which reasons for social distancing have an effecton mental health?”Independent Variable:• Reasons for Social Distancing; (Mandatory, Voluntary, Mixed,Not Social Distancing)Dependent Variables:• Depression, Anxiety, Loneliness, Life SatisfactionWe hypothesize that poor mental health, as measured by depression, anxiety, loneliness, and low life satisfaction will be greater for those who are mandated into social distancing.Mandated vs. voluntary social isolation and mental healthAn examination of the psychological effects of social isolation at the onset of COVID-19.Andrew Rodrigues, Lauren Adams, Patrick Cooper, PhD, Bell Cooper, PhD, Rachel Pauletti, PhDLynn University• N = 501; 382 Females, 104 Males, 15 No Response ; Age (M = 35.31, SD = 15.50)Materials & Procedure• Online surveys using snowball/convenience sampling• Daily Affect Scale: 1-item measuring each of three variables on a scale from 1 (haven’t felt that way at all) to 5 (have felt that way a lot) in the last 48 hours.• Depression (“sad, unhappy, or depressed”) • Anxiety (“on edge, tense, or nervous”)• Loneliness (“lonely, isolated, or empty”)• Satisfaction with Life Scale: 7-items from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree). Higher scores indicate higher life satisfaction.• Example items include:• “I am satisfied with my life.”• “If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing”.Participants were asked to check all that apply and are grouped as “mandatory” if they only selected option 1 or 2; “voluntary” if the selected only options 3-6; “mixed” if they selected from items 1-2 and 3-6.1. I was mandated to go into isolation by a medical professional.2. I was mandated to go into isolation by a governmental official.3. I voluntarily went into isolation to keep myself safe.4. I was not directly told to isolate, but I am because I feel it is my duty as citizen to do so.5. I am voluntarily in isolation to keep a vulnerable family member safe.6. I am voluntarily isolating because I have symptoms or have been exposed to someone who has symptoms of COVID-19.Reasons for Social DistancingMultiple One-Way ANOVAs were conducted to evaluate theeffects of social distancing on scores of depression, anxiety,loneliness, and life satisfaction. The ANOVAs showed nosignificant results for any of the dependent variables. SeeFigure 1.• Depression F(3,496) = 0.234, p = 0.873, Anxiety F(3,496) =0.523, p = 0.667, Loneliness F(3,496) = 0.9, p = 0.441, Lifesatisfaction F(3,493) = 1.765, p = 0.153.Measures M SDDepression 3.49 1.62Anxiety 3.68 1.61Loneliness 3.36 1.80Life Satisfaction 3.47 0.71*Note: All variables were all measured on a scale from 1-5.Table 1. Means and standard deviations of measuresFigure 1. Mean differences in dependent variables by reason for social distancing11.522.533.544.55Depression Anxiety Loneliness LifesatisfactionMandatory (N=35) Voluntary (N=118)Mixed (N=237) None (N=110)Our hypothesis that mandatory social distancing will have greatest effect on levels of depression, anxiety, loneliness, or life satisfaction was not supported. • This could be due to other personal factors that may negate the effect social distancing plays on psychological stressors.• The access to and use of technology to stay connected to others may mitigate the psychological stressors associated with social distancing and social isolation in times of the COVID-19 pandemic (Saltzman et al., 2020).• Other factors, such as the extent to which social distancing impacts a person’s daily routine (Castaldelli-Maia et al., 2021) might have a greater impact on psychological distress. Perhaps education level moderates this effect (Best et al. 2020).• Overall, there are many contributing factors that play a role in determining one’s psychological functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic, but reason for social distancing does not seem to contribute.• Future research should explore the potential for cognitive dissonance in the “mixed” category. Some participants may have been forced out of social distancing by work or family demands, and it stands to reason that this would produce qualitatively different stresses than those who are not forced to make that choice (Chakraborty et al., 2021).Best, L. A., Law, M. A., Roach, S., & Wilbiks, J. M. P. (2020). The psychological impact of COVID-19 in  Canada: Effects of social isolation during the initial response. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne. https://doi.org/10.1037/cap0000254Castaldelli-Maia, J., Marziali, M., Lu, Z., & Martins, S. (2021). Investigating the effect of national government physical distancing measures on depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic through meta-analysis and meta-regression. Psychological Medicine, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291721000933Chakraborty, T., Kumar, A., Upadhyay, P., & Dwivedi, Y. K. (2021). Link between social distancing, cognitive dissonance, and social networking site usage intensity: a country-level study during the covid-19 outbreak. Internet Research, 31(2), 419–456. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-05-2020-0281Kämpfen, F., Kohler, I. V., Ciancio, A., Bruine de Bruin, W., Maurer, J., & Kohler, H.-P. (2020). Predictors of mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic in the US: Role of economic concerns, health worries and social distancing. PLoS ONE, 15(11), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone .0241895Kirpinar, İ. (2021). COVID-19 Pandemic: Stress and Psychiatric Disorders. Bezmialem Science, 9, 61–68. https://lynn-lang.student.lynn.edu:2092/10.14235/bas.galenos.2020.4743Pancani, L., Marinucci, M., Aureli, N., & Riva, P. (1AD, January 1). Forced social isolation and Mental Health: A Study on 1,006 Italians under covid-19 lockdown. Frontiers.Reizer, A., Geffen, L., & Koslowsky, M. (2021). Life under the COVID-19 lockdown: On the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and psychological distress. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. https://lynn-lang.student.lynn.edu:2092/10.1037/tra0001012Saltzman, L. Y., Hansel, T. C., & Bordnick, P. S. (2020). Loneliness, isolation, and social support factors in post-COVID-19 mental health. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 12(S1), S55–S57. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra000070

Mandated vs. Voluntary Social Isolation and Mental Health: An Examination of the Psychological Effects of Social Isolation at the Onset of COVID-19

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Mandated vs. Voluntary Social Isolation and Mental Health: An Examination of the Psychological Effects of Social Isolation at the Onset of COVID-19

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