Open AccessThe role of social connection on the experience of COVID-19 related post-traumatic growth and stress
Author(s) -
Marcela Matos,
Kirsten McEwan,
Martin Kanovský,
Júlia Halamová,
Stanley R. Steindl,
Nuno Ferreira,
Mariana Linharelhos,
Daniel Rijo,
Kenichi Asano,
Sara P. Vilas,
Margarita G. Márquez,
Sónia Gregório,
Gonzalo Brito-Pons,
Paola Lucena-Santos,
Margareth da Silva Oliveira,
Érika Leonardo de Souza,
Lorena Llobenes,
Natali Gumiy,
Maria Ileana Costa,
Noor Habib,
Reham Hakem,
Hussain Khrad,
Ahmad Alzahrani,
Simone Cheli,
Nicola Petrocchi,
Elli Tholouli,
Philia Issari,
Gregoris Simos,
Vibeke Lunding-Gregersen,
Ask Elklit,
Russell L. Kolts,
Allison C. Kelly,
Catherine Bortolon,
Pascal Delamillieure,
Marine Paucsik,
Julia E. Wahl,
Mariusz Zięba,
Mateusz Zatorski,
Tomasz Komendziński,
Shuge Zhang,
Jaskaran Basran,
Antonios Kagialis,
James N. Kirby,
Paul Gilbert
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0261384
Subject(s) - disconnection , loneliness , psychology , social isolation , feeling , stressor , compassion , social stress , social support , social psychology , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , psychiatry , political science , law
Background Historically social connection has been an important way through which humans have coped with large-scale threatening events. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns have deprived people of major sources of social support and coping, with others representing threats. Hence, a major stressor during the pandemic has been a sense of social disconnection and loneliness. This study explores how people’s experience of compassion and feeling socially safe and connected, in contrast to feeling socially disconnected, lonely and fearful of compassion, effects the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on post-traumatic growth and post-traumatic stress. Methods Adult participants from the general population ( N = 4057) across 21 countries worldwide, completed self-report measures of social connection (compassion for self, from others, for others; social safeness), social disconnection (fears of compassion for self, from others, for others; loneliness), perceived threat of COVID-19, post-traumatic growth and traumatic stress. Results Perceived threat of COVID-19 predicted increased post-traumatic growth and traumatic stress. Social connection (compassion and social safeness) predicted higher post-traumatic growth and traumatic stress, whereas social disconnection (fears of compassion and loneliness) predicted increased traumatic symptoms only. Social connection heightened the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on post-traumatic growth, while social disconnection weakened this impact. Social disconnection magnified the impact of the perceived threat of COVID-19 on traumatic stress. These effects were consistent across all countries. Conclusions Social connection is key to how people adapt and cope with the worldwide COVID-19 crisis and may facilitate post-traumatic growth in the context of the threat experienced during the pandemic. In contrast, social disconnection increases vulnerability to develop post-traumatic stress in this threatening context. Public health and Government organizations could implement interventions to foster compassion and feelings of social safeness and reduce experiences of social disconnection, thus promoting growth, resilience and mental wellbeing during and following the pandemic.