Social alignment matters: Following pandemic guidelines is associated with better wellbeing

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, most countries implemented physical distancing measures. Many mental health experts warned that through increasing social isolation and anxiety, these measures could negatively affect psychosocial wellbeing. However, socially aligning with others by adhering to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	BMC public health 2022-05, Vol.22 (1), p.821-821, Article 821
Main Authors:	Tunçgenç, Bahar, Newson, Martha, Sulik, Justin, Zhao, Yi, Dezecache, Guillaume, Deroy, Ophelia, Zein, Marwa El
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Adolescent Alignment Anxiety Coronaviruses COVID-19 COVID-19 - epidemiology COVID-19 - prevention & control Covid-19 lockdown Education Educational attainment Female Guidelines Health risks Humanities and Social Sciences Humans Hypotheses Life Sciences Mental disorders Mental Health Pandemic adherence Pandemics Pandemics - prevention & control Physical Distancing Psychology Risk analysis Risk factors Risk groups Santé publique et épidémiologie Social alignment Social distancing Social interactions Social isolation Social networks Wellbeing Young adults
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Summary:	In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, most countries implemented physical distancing measures. Many mental health experts warned that through increasing social isolation and anxiety, these measures could negatively affect psychosocial wellbeing. However, socially aligning with others by adhering to these measures may also be beneficial for wellbeing. We examined these two contrasting hypotheses using cross-national survey data (N = 6675) collected fortnightly from participants in 115 countries over 3 months at the beginning of the pandemic. Participants reported their wellbeing, perceptions of how vulnerable they were to Covid-19 (i.e., high risk of infection) and how much they, and others in their social circle and country, were adhering to the distancing measures. Linear mixed-effects models showed that being a woman, having lower educational attainment, living alone and perceived high vulnerability to Covid-19 were risk factors for poorer wellbeing. Being young (18-25) was associated with lower wellbeing, but longitudinal analyses showed that young people's wellbeing improved over 3 months. In contrast to widespread views that physical distancing measures negatively affect wellbeing, results showed that following the guidelines was positively associated with wellbeing even for people in high-risk groups. These findings provide an important counterpart to the idea that pandemic containment measures such as physical distancing negatively impacted wellbeing unequivocally. Despite the overall burden of the pandemic on psychosocial wellbeing, social alignment with others can still contribute to positive wellbeing. The pandemic has manifested our propensity to adapt to challenges, particularly highlighting how social alignment can forge resilience.
ISSN:	1471-2458 1471-2458