How loneliness increased among different age groups during COVID-19: a longitudinal analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic entailed restrictions that hampered face-to-face interactions and social gatherings. In this paper, we examine whether loneliness increased to different extents among age groups due to these restrictions, and if these differences were mediated by specific life course conditions. Based on longitudinal data from the Swiss Household Panel, our results show that loneliness increased disproportionately among younger individuals during the pandemic. This finding aligns with the social convoy model and the socioemotional selectivity theory, which postulate a decline of social network size over the life course. It also corresponds to findings indicating a decrease in contact frequency with increasing age. Individuals aged 30 years and above experienced a lower increase in loneliness when they lived in shared households; however, this protective effect was not observed for younger individuals. Living together with a partner, being male, and not anticipating health complications in case of a COVID-19 infection moderated the increases of loneliness, but they were independent of age.