The Impact of the First COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Restrictions on Intergenerational Interactions

ABSTRACT

To explore intergenerational differences in the impact of the initial COVID-19 restrictions on interactions, loneliness, and stress, data were collected via online survey from 962 individuals between April 7-May 8, 2020. The predominantly female, White, and well-educated sample included 245 younger adults (YAs), ages 18–34; 374 middle-aged adults (MAs), ages 35–64; and 343 older adults (OAs), ages 65 and above. Face-to-face interaction between generations did decrease significantly, while connections via technology increased somewhat less. About a third of MAs (35%) and OAs (36%) were lonely, compared to 48% of YAs (p = .003), and a higher percentage of YAs (57%) reported being “more lonely” now, compared to MAs (36%) and OAs (41%). OAs reported the least stress; 42% reported low/very low levels of stress compared to YAs (9%) and MAs (20%). Physical exercise and “being in nature” were most often used by all generations to deal with stress. Results suggest the resilience of older adults is helping them during the pandemic.

KEYWORDS:

• Interacting through technology
• Miss most during pandemic
• Pandemic coping

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was not funded.