Social touch deprivation during COVID-19: effects on psychological wellbeing and craving interpersonal touch.

ABSTRACT: Social touch has positive effects on social affiliation and stress alleviation. However, its ubiquitous presence in human life does not allow the study of social touch deprivation 'in the wild'. Nevertheless, COVID-19-related restrictions such as social distancing allowed the systematic study of the degree to which social distancing affects tactile experiences and mental health. In this study, 1746 participants completed an online survey to examine intimate, friendly and professional touch experiences during COVID-19-related restrictions, their impact on mental health and the extent to which touch deprivation results in craving touch. We found that intimate touch deprivation during COVID-19-related restrictions is associated with higher anxiety and greater loneliness even though this type

SUBMITTER: von Mohr M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8424338 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature