IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i18p9501-d631900.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Associations of the Initial COVID-19 Lockdown on Self-Reported Happiness and Worry about Developing Loneliness: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Rural, Regional, and Urban Australian Communities

Author

Listed:
  • Vivian Isaac

    (Flinders Rural Health South Australia, Flinders University, Renmark, SA 5341, Australia)

  • Teresa Cheng

    (Centre for Healthy Futures, Torrens University Australia, Pyrmont, NSW 2009, Australia)

  • Louise Townsin

    (Research Office, Torrens University Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
    School of Health, Federation University Australia, Berwick, VIC 3806, Australia)

  • Hassan Assareh

    (Evidence Generation and Dissemination, Agency for Clinical Innovation, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia)

  • Amy Li

    (Centre for Healthy Futures, Torrens University Australia, Pyrmont, NSW 2009, Australia
    Department of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences, La Trobe University, Bendigo, VIC 3550, Australia)

  • Craig S. McLachlan

    (Centre for Healthy Futures, Torrens University Australia, Pyrmont, NSW 2009, Australia)

Abstract

Australia adopted hard lockdown measures to eliminate community transmission of COVID-19. Lockdown imposes periods of social isolation that contributes to increased levels of stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, and worry. We examined whether lockdowns have similar psychosocial associations across rural and urban areas and whether associations existed between happiness and worry of loneliness in the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Data were collected using the “COVID-19 Living Survey” between 13 and 20 May 2020 by BehaviourWorks Australia at the Monash Sustainable Development Institute. The mean self-reported feeling of happiness and anxiousness (N = 1593), on a 10-point Likert scale with 0 being least happy or highly anxious, was 6.5 (SD = 2.4) and 3.9 (2.9), respectively. Factors associated with happiness were older age and having a postgraduate education. Participants worried about becoming lonely also exhibited reduced happiness (estimate = −1.58, 95%CI = −1.84–−1.32) and higher anxiousness (2.22, 1.93–2.51) scores, and these conditions remained associated after adjusting for demographics. Interestingly, worry about loneliness was greater in rural areas than in urban communities. The negative impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on rural youth and those less-educated was evident. Participants in rural Australia who were worried about becoming lonely were reportedly less happy than participants in major cities. This dataset provides a better understanding of factors that influence psychological well-being and quality of life in the Australian population and helps to determine whether happiness may be an associative factor that could mitigate self-feelings of anxiety and worry about loneliness.

Suggested Citation

  • Vivian Isaac & Teresa Cheng & Louise Townsin & Hassan Assareh & Amy Li & Craig S. McLachlan, 2021. "Associations of the Initial COVID-19 Lockdown on Self-Reported Happiness and Worry about Developing Loneliness: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Rural, Regional, and Urban Australian Communities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-11, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:18:p:9501-:d:631900
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/18/9501/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/18/9501/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Matthew James Cook & Gabriela Guizzo Dri & Prishanee Logan & Jia Bin Tan & Antoine Flahault, 2020. "COVID-19 Down Under: Australia’s Initial Pandemic Experience," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-19, December.
    2. Debanjan Banerjee & Mayank Rai, 2020. "Social isolation in Covid-19: The impact of loneliness," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 66(6), pages 525-527, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sana Karim & Sophia Choukas-Bradley & Ana Radovic & Savannah R. Roberts & Anne J. Maheux & César G. Escobar-Viera, 2022. "Support over Social Media among Socially Isolated Sexual and Gender Minority Youth in Rural U.S. during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Opportunities for Intervention Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-15, November.
    2. Abdul-Salam Sulemana & Trinh Xuan Thi Nguyen & Sumeet Lal & Mostafa Saidur Rahim Khan & Yoshihiko Kadoya, 2023. "Loneliness during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison of Urban and Rural Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-12, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Daniela Huber & Johanna Freidl & Christina Pichler & Michael Bischof & Martin Kiem & Renate Weisböck-Erdheim & Gabriella Squarra & Vincenzo De Nigris & Stefan Resnyak & Marcel Neberich & Susanna Bordi, 2023. "Long-Term Effects of Mountain Hiking vs. Forest Therapy on Physical and Mental Health of Couples: A Randomized Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-20, January.
    2. Becky Leshem & Gabriela Kashy-Rosenbaum & Miriam Schiff & Rami Benbenishty & Ruth Pat-Horenczyk, 2023. "Continuous Exposure to Terrorism during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Moderated Mediation Model in the Israeli Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-13, February.
    3. Michelle W. T. Cheng & Man-Lai Leung & Christina W. M. Yu & Kevin K. M. Yue & Elaine S. C. Liu & Samuel K. W. Chu, 2021. "Sustaining Healthy Staying Communities in University Residential Halls amid Unprecedented Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, May.
    4. Katarzyna Boratynska, 2021. "Determinants of Economic Fragility in Central and Eastern European Countries FsQCA Approach," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3B), pages 827-837.
    5. Leida Ruvina, 2021. "Science as Interdisciplinary Analysis of Temporary and Unstable Features, and Norbert Elias’ Relational Perspective of Fear, Violence and State," European Journal of Social Sciences Education and Research Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 8, May - Aug.
    6. Katarzyna Boratyńska, 2021. "A New Approach for Risk of Corporate Bankruptcy Assessment during the COVID-19 Pandemic," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-14, December.
    7. Yiu Tung Suen & Randolph CH Chan & Eliz Miu Yin Wong, 2023. "Association between co-residence and loneliness during COVID-19 among sexual minority people in Hong Kong," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 69(2), pages 483-492, March.
    8. Ka Ming Chow & Bernard M.H. Law & Marques S.N. Ng & Dorothy N.S. Chan & Winnie K.W. So & Cho Lee Wong & Carmen W.H. Chan, 2020. "A Review of Psychological Issues among Patients and Healthcare Staff during Two Major Coronavirus Disease Outbreaks in China: Contributory Factors and Management Strategies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-17, September.
    9. Matylda Sierakowska & Halina Doroszkiewicz, 2022. "Psychosocial Determinants of Loneliness in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic—Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-15, September.
    10. Sung Man Bae, 2023. "The Association between Adverse Childhood and Adulthood Experiences, Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Depression among Young Adults in South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(19), pages 1-11, October.
    11. Aracil-Jordá, Jorge & Clemente-Almendros, Jose-Antonio & Jiménez-Zarco, Ana-Isabel & González-González, Inés, 2023. "Improving the social performance of women-led microenterprises: The role of social media marketing actions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    12. Angel M. Dzhambov & Peter Lercher & Drozdstoy Stoyanov & Nadezhda Petrova & Stoyan Novakov & Donka D. Dimitrova, 2021. "University Students’ Self-Rated Health in Relation to Perceived Acoustic Environment during the COVID-19 Home Quarantine," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-21, March.
    13. Olivier Torrès & Alexandre Benzari & Christian Fisch & Jinia Mukerjee & Abdelaziz Swalhi & Roy Thurik, 2022. "Risk of burnout in French entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 crisis," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 717-739, February.
    14. Kung, Claryn S.J. & Kunz, Johannes S. & Shields, Michael A., 2023. "COVID-19 lockdowns and changes in loneliness among young people in the U.K," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    15. Franca Spatafora & Paula M. Matos Fialho & Heide Busse & Stefanie M. Helmer & Hajo Zeeb & Christiane Stock & Claus Wendt & Claudia R. Pischke, 2022. "Fear of Infection and Depressive Symptoms among German University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of COVID-19 International Student Well-Being Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-15, January.
    16. Maksim Belitski & Christina Guenther & Alexander S. Kritikos & Roy Thurik, 2022. "Economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on entrepreneurship and small businesses," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 593-609, February.
    17. Kung, Claryn S.J. & Pudney, Stephen E. & Shields, Michael A., 2022. "Economic gradients in loneliness, social isolation and social support: Evidence from the UK Biobank," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    18. Micaela Di Consiglio & Sheila Merola & Tiziana Pascucci & Cristiano Violani & Alessandro Couyoumdjian, 2021. "The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Italian University Students’ Mental Health: Changes across the Waves," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-13, September.
    19. Ayse Nuray Karanci & Gözde Ikizer & İlknur Dilekler Aldemir & Ayça Bilgehan & Cansu Karagöz, 2023. "How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect individuals with schizophrenia from Turkey?," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 69(2), pages 277-285, March.
    20. Shisei Tei & Junya Fujino, 2022. "Social ties, fears and bias during the COVID-19 pandemic: Fragile and flexible mindsets," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-7, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:18:p:9501-:d:631900. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.