(PS1-B33) Household Size and Perceived Loneliness During COVID-19: Role of Coping Activities

Rationale. Humans have a fundamental need for social connection, but the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated disruptions have led to unprecedented increases in perceived loneliness across adults worldwide (Dozois, 2021). This is particularly worrisome given that high levels of perceived loneliness are related to a multitude of psychosocial and physical health difficulties (e.g., Mushtaq et al., 2014). Individuals living in households with fewer people (e.g., living alone) may be at an especially high risk of loneliness because of COVID-19 restrictions forcing people to stay within their household. However, the coping activities (e.g., seeking help, digital social connection) individuals engage in may buffer the effects of social isolation on perceived loneliness. Aim. We examined whether coping activities moderated the relation between household size and perceived loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method. Participants consisted of 2120 adults between the ages of 18 and 70 years (50.2% Female, 67.9% White) across Canada who reported on the frequency of engaging in twelve activities to cope with the pandemic, perceived loneliness, and sociodemographic information in data collected by the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH) between September 2020 to March 2021. Results. A principal component analysis revealed that the twelve coping activities loaded onto three factors (all loadings ≥ 0.78): awareness/help seeking (e.g., meditation, seeking therapy), behavioural activation (e.g., digital social connection, exercise), and intra-personal coping activities (e.g., relaxing, following a routine). Controlling for race, gender, and household income, multilevel models indicated that the frequency of individual’s awareness/help seeking coping moderated the association between household size and perceived loneliness, b = 0.04, se = 0.05, p = .005. Specifically, individuals who reported living in smaller households reported higher perceived feelings of loneliness at low (p = 0.02), but not high levels of awareness/help-seeking coping (p = .250). Further, the relation between household size and perceived loneliness depended on the frequency of behavioural activation coping, b = 0.04, se = 0.06, p = .007. Individuals who reported living in smaller households also reported lower perceived feelings of loneliness at high (p = .010), but not low levels of behavioural activation coping (p = .360). However, intra-personal coping was not a significant moderator of this relation, b = 0.02, se = 0.02, p = .327. Implications. Results highlight the importance of coping activities for improving the psychological wellbeing (i.e., lower feelings of loneliness) of individuals living in varying household contexts during a large-scale health emergency. Specifically, frequently engaging in help seeking and behavioural activation activities may mitigate the impact of social isolation on perceived loneliness. Findings provide insights into how self-regulatory and contextual factors may be effectively tailored within interventions efforts during health emergencies.