Loneliness and Well-Being During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Associations with Personality and Emotion Regulation
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Loneliness and Well‑Being During the Covid‑19 Pandemic: Associations with Personality and Emotion Regulation Danièle A. Gubler1 · Lisa M. Makowski1 · Stefan J. Troche1 · Katja Schlegel1 Accepted: 6 October 2020 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract The present study examined how neuroticism, extraversion, and emotion regulation were related to loneliness and well-being during 6 weeks of major public life restrictions in the Covid-19 pandemic in Switzerland. Cross-sectional results from 466 participants showed that neuroticism and emotion regulation strategies were associated with higher loneliness and lower well-being. However, in contrast to prior research, associations of extraversion with loneliness and well-being were weak and were qualified by interactions with emotion regulation. For introverts, maladaptive cognitive strategies such as rumination or catastrophizing were related to higher levels of loneliness. For extraverts, emotion suppression was related to lower levels of affective well-being. Individuals with low maladaptive regulation reported higher well-being the longer the public life restrictions were in place at the time of study participation. These findings suggest that first, extraversion may lose some of its protective value for loneliness and well-being when opportunities to engage in social activities are limited; second, that loneliness and well-being do not decrease over 6 weeks of public life restrictions; and third, that future studies should further investigate the moderating role of emotion regulation on the link between personality, loneliness, and well-being. Keywords Loneliness · Well-being · Neuroticism · Extraversion · Emotion regulation
1 Introduction On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the Covid-19 (coronavirus disease) outbreak as a pandemic (WHO 2020a). In an attempt to slow down the spread of the virus, serious public life restriction measures were taken in many countries around the world, including the temporary closure of businesses, shops, restaurants, schools, as well as entertainment and leisure facilities. Many governments urged their citizens to stay at home or implemented lockdown measures allowing only those with important reasons (buying groceries or medication, going to work) to leave the house. As noted by researchers (e.g., Folk et al. 2020; Holmes et al. 2020), the media, and international organizations (e.g., WHO 2020b), these disruptive measures and the pandemic in general * Katja Schlegel [email protected] 1
Institute for Psychology, University of Bern, Fabrikstr. 8, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
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have resulted in severe psychological stress for many individuals around the world due to worries over health, financial security, or adaptation to new living conditions. Social distancing also may pose a great challenge to many, as friends and relatives can no longer be visited and physical contact should be avoided (Brooks et al. 2020). In summary, most people were dealing with an unpre
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