COVID-19 and Loneliness among Older Adults: Associations with Mode of Family/Friend Contacts and Social Participation

Objectives Given physical/social distancing due to COVID-19, we examined associations between self-reported loneliness and changes in contact with family/friends and mode of social participation among older adults. Methods Data came from the 2020 National Health and Aging Trend Study (NHATS) and its supplemental mail COVID-19 survey (N = 2,910 respondents who reported changes in loneliness during the COVID-19 outbreak). We fit a generalized linear model (GLM) with Poisson and log link using increased versus the same/decreased loneliness as the dependent variable and changes in frequencies of four modalities of contact with family/friends and social participation mode during COVID-19 as the independent variables. Results Approximately 19% of respondents reported feeling lonely on more days during COVID-19. GLM results showed that decreased in-person contact (AOR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.17-1.73) and increased video call contact (AOR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.01-1.66) with family/friends and on-line participation in clubs, classes, and other organized activities (AOR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.04-1.77) were associated with higher odds of increased loneliness. Conclusions Virtual interaction is not an effective substitute for in-person interaction for older adults and is associated with increased loneliness. Clinical Implications : Innovative means of making virtual contacts more similar to in-person contacts are needed to decrease older adults' loneliness during COVID-19.