Dataset Information

Comparing the effects of reduced social contact on psychosocial wellbeing before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal survey from two Norwegian counties.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To determine changes to people's social contact during COVID-19, and whether reduced social contact was associated with changes to psychosocial wellbeing.

Methods

Questionnaire data were collected from a sample of adult respondents (18 years or more) in two Norwegian counties participating pre-COVID-19 (September 2019-February 2020; n = 20,196) and at two time points during COVID-19 (June [Mid] and November/December [Late] 2020; n = 11,953 and n = 10,968, respectively). The main outcome measures were participants' self-reported changes to social contact, loneliness, psychological distress, and life satisfaction.

Results

The proportion of respondents reporting less social contact due to COVID-19 decreased from 62% in Mid-2020 to 55% in Late-2020. Overall, reported psychological wellbeing remained unchanged or improved from pre-COVID-19 to Mid-2020. From Mid-2020 to Late-2020, however, a reduction in psychological wellbeing was observed. Poorer psychological wellbeing was found for those with less social contact during the pandemic compared with people reporting unchanged social contact. This effect increased over time and was observed for all age groups at Late-2020. At Mid-2020, the importance of change in social contact for change in psychological wellbeing was greatest among young adults (< 30 years), while no significant differences were found for the oldest age group.

Conclusion

The association between COVID-19-era changes to social contact and loneliness, psychological distress, and life satisfaction is complex and appears to be age-dependent. Future studies should consider the quality of social contact and cultural contexts in which social restrictions are imposed.

SUBMITTER: Kalseth J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9922041 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Comparing the effects of reduced social contact on psychosocial wellbeing before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal survey from two Norwegian counties.

Kalseth Jorid J Ådnanes Marian M Ose Solveig Osborg SO Lassemo Eva E Kaspersen Silje L SL das Nair Roshan R

Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation 20230211 6

<h4>Purpose</h4>To determine changes to people's social contact during COVID-19, and whether reduced social contact was associated with changes to psychosocial wellbeing.<h4>Methods</h4>Questionnaire data were collected from a sample of adult respondents (18 years or more) in two Norwegian counties participating pre-COVID-19 (September 2019-February 2020; n = 20,196) and at two time points during COVID-19 (June [Mid] and November/December [Late] 2020; n = 11,953 and n = 10,968, respectively). Th ...[more]

PMID: 36773270

Similar Datasets

Project description:Background. The aims of this study were to translate the Obesity-Related Problem scale (OP scale) into the Norwegian language and test its reliability, validity and responsiveness in a Norwegian sample. Method. The questionnaire (OP scale) was translated from the original language (Swedish) into Norwegian. Patients completed the questionnaire prior to and one year after sleeve gastrectomy. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's α. Construct validity was tested by correlating the OP-scale with the SF-36 and the Cantril Ladder using the Pearson correlation coefficient. An exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the unidimensionality of the OP scale. Responsiveness was tested by assessing changes in the OP scale from baseline to one year post-surgery using the paired sample t-test. Floor and ceiling effect were calculated as percentages. Results. A total of 181 patients (123 women) accepted for bariatric surgery was included in the study. The mean age was 43.1 ± 12.5 years, and mean body mass index (BMI) before surgery was 45 ± 6.9. The mean value of the OP scale at baseline was 63.30 ± 24.43 (severe impairment) and 21.01 ± 20.98 at one year follow-up (mild impairment). Internal consistency was high at baseline (Cronbach's α 0.91). The floor effect was small at baseline and high at one year. The ceiling effect was small at baseline and at one year. Exploratory and conformatory factor analysis showed one factor with a high percent of explained variance. Correlations between OP scale at baseline, SF-36, Cantril Ladder and BMI were statistically significant and in the predicted direction to support validity of the Norwegian OP scale. After one year correlations between the change in OP scale and the change in SF-36 scores, Cantril Ladder and BMI were also statistically significant, except for the change in the Role Physical-scale. The OP scale showed greater responsiveness than either the SF-36 or Cantril Ladder. Conclusion. These results confirm that the Norwegian version of the OP scale is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring psychosocial functioning in patients with clinically severe obesity.

Project description:IntroductionEarly intervention by identifying children at risk and providing necessary support is vital to prevent stunted psychosocial development and mental health issues. In this regard, schools are important intervention arenas, reaching all students at a universal level. The need for enhanced efforts is well recognised in Norwegian policy documents, whereas school social workers can represent significant roles in supporting teachers with expanded knowledge on psychosocial factors, mental health and relevant interventions. Despite the clearly stated needs for interprofessional competence in school, limited research has been conducted, and there are no national standards or guidelines for school social workers' practice. Thus, this scoping review's overall objectives are to systematically map the existing research on social workers' roles and responsibilities in Norwegian primary schools.Methods and analysisA scoping review will be conducted, using the methodological framework of Arksey and O'Malley. Four of their defined goals will be of significance: (1) examine the extent, range and nature of the research activity; (2) determine the value of undertaking a full systematic review; (3) summarise and disseminate research findings; (4) identify research gaps in the existing literature. Systematic searches will be conducted in relevant databases and search portals, including snowballing and manually searching reference lists. Publication language is restricted to English and Norwegian, the date range is from 1 January 2000 until 31 October 2022, and inclusion requires focus on social workers in a Norwegian primary school context. The data will be screened using the screening data extraction software Covidence. A thematic analysis of the literature will be carried out.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not considered necessary as the aim of this scoping review is to investigate already published materials. Findings will be submitted as scientific papers and at conferences as part of the main project.

Project description:BackgroundAdolescent mental wellbeing has been declining in the United Kingdom for over a decade. Expansion of services to support the mental wellbeing of young people is a public health priority and a core component of the National Health Service's Long-Term Plan. In this paper, we leverage secondary analysis of a very large longitudinal dataset (#BeeWell) to generate insights regarding different patterns of health behaviour, their covariates, and consequences for mental wellbeing one year later.MethodsA Latent Class Analysis was conducted using data on physical activity, sleep, and eating habits collected in 2021 from 18,478 Year 8 pupils from Greater Manchester (United Kingdom) to (1) identify distinct latent classes of adolescent health behaviour; (2) establish factors likely to be associated with latent class membership; and (3) determine whether latent class membership contributes to variance in self-reported mental wellbeing one year later.ResultsA three-class solution was identified as an excellent fit to the data, discriminating between: the Wellness Weary (n = 2,717; 15%); the Balanced Bunch (n = 7,377; 40%); and the Green and Dream Team (n = 8,384; 45%). Several factors significantly influenced class membership. Most notably, socio-economic disadvantage and social media use were linked with less favourable health behaviour patterns, whilst cisgender heterosexual girls were likely to endorse healthier patterns. After adjusting for covariates, the Green and Dream Team reported significantly greater mental wellbeing than the Balanced Bunch one year later. However, there was no difference between the Balanced Bunch and the Wellness Weary, signalling that health behaviours may support mental wellbeing, but only among the healthiest young people.ConclusionsBeyond advancements in fundamental understanding, our findings yield significant translation opportunities through their use and application in health, education, and allied professional settings designed to support young people.

Dataset Information

Comparing the effects of reduced social contact on psychosocial wellbeing before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal survey from two Norwegian counties.

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Comparing the effects of reduced social contact on psychosocial wellbeing before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal survey from two Norwegian counties.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets