A Lonelier World after COVID-19: Longitudinal Population-Based Study of Well-Being, Emotional and Social Loneliness, and Suicidal Behaviour in Slovenia

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
File version

Version of Record (VoR)

Author(s)
Poštuvan, Vita
Krohne, Nina
Lavrič, Meta
Gomboc, Vanja
De Leo, Diego
Rojs, Lucia
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
2024
Size
File type(s)
Location
Abstract

Background and Objectives: The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) goes beyond the consequences of the infectious disease, especially as the measures taken to prevent the spread of the virus have had a very profound impact on people’s social relationships and everyday lives. Several studies have investigated these effects, but there is a lack of longitudinal studies in Central Europe. Objective: The aim of our study was to observe changes in well-being, loneliness, and suicidal behaviour before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic using the same population-based cohort. Materials and Methods: A representative sample of 440 participants completed online questionnaires at four time points: 2019 (wave 0), 2021 (wave 1), 2022 (wave 2), and 2023 (wave 3). Results: The results show significant changes in the levels of well-being and loneliness over these periods. In particular, both social and emotional loneliness increased during the pandemic, while emotional loneliness increased to a greater extent without further decreases. Well-being appeared to increase after pandemic-related restrictions diminished but decreased again one year later. No significant changes concerning suicidal ideation were observed. Conclusions: Our study suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way in which people perceive their well-being and especially their relationships with others. From the data, we can conclude that people’s worldview is now lonelier than before the pandemic.

Journal Title

Medicina

Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume

60

Issue

2

Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement

© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Item Access Status
Note
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject

Sociology

Public health

Biomedical and clinical sciences

Health sciences

Persistent link to this record
Citation

Poštuvan, V; Krohne, N; Lavrič, M; Gomboc, V; De Leo, D; Rojs, L, A Lonelier World after COVID-19: Longitudinal Population-Based Study of Well-Being, Emotional and Social Loneliness, and Suicidal Behaviour in Slovenia, Medicina, 2024, 60 (2), pp. 312

Collections