The role of social connection on the experience of COVID-19 related post-traumatic growth and stress

Marcela Matos (1) , Kirsten Mcewan (2) , Martin Kanovský (3) , Júlia Halamová (3) , Stanley Steindl (4) , Nuno Ferreira (5) , Mariana Linharelhos (1) , Daniel Rijo (1) , Kenichi Asano (6) , Sara Vilas (7) , Margarita Márquez (7) , Sónia Gregório (7, 1) , Gonzalo Brito-Pons (8) , Paola Lucena-Santos (1) , Margareth da Silva Oliveira (9) , Erika Leonardo De Souza , Lorena Llobenes , Natali Gumiy , Maria Ileana Costa , Noor Habib (10) , Reham Hakem (10) , Hussain Khrad (10) , Ahmad Alzahrani (10) , Simone Cheli (11) , Nicola Petrocchi (12) , Elli Tholouli (13) , Philia Issari (13) , Gregoris Simos (14) , Vibeke Lunding-Gregersen , Ask Elklit (15) , Russell Kolts (16) , Allison Kelly (17) , Catherine Bortolon (18) , Pascal Delamillieure (19, 20) , Marine Paucsik (18) , Julia Wahl (21) , Mariusz Zieba (21) , Mateusz Zatorski (21) , Tomasz Komendziński (22) , Shuge Zhang (2) , Jaskaran Basran (2) , Antonios Kagialis (5) , James Kirby (4) , Paul Gilbert (2)

1 UC - University of Coimbra [Portugal]
2 University of Derby [United Kingdom]
3 Comenius University in Bratislava
4 UQ [All campuses : Brisbane, Dutton Park Gatton, Herston, St Lucia and other locations] - The University of Queensland
5 University of Nicosia
6 Mejiro University
7 UEM - Universidad Europea de Madrid = European University of Madrid
8 UC - Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
9 PUC-RS - Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul [Brasil] = Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul [Brazil] = Université catholique pontificale de Rio Grande do Sul [Brésil]
10 KFSH & RC - King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre
11 UniFI - Università degli Studi di Firenze = University of Florence = Université de Florence
12 JCU - John Cabot University
13 NKUA - National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
14 UoM - University of Macedonia [Thessaloniki]
15 SDU - University of Southern Denmark
16 Eastern Washington University
17 University of Waterloo [Waterloo]
18 LIP-PC2S - Laboratoire Inter-universitaire de Psychologie : Personnalité, Cognition, Changement Social
19 Service de psychiatrie [CHU Caen]
20 UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie
21 SWPS - SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities
22 Nicolaus Copernicus University [Toruń]

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.

Domaines: Psychologie

Marcela Matos, Kirsten Mcewan, Martin Kanovský, Júlia Halamová, Stanley Steindl, et al.. The role of social connection on the experience of COVID-19 related post-traumatic growth and stress. PLoS ONE, 2021, 16 (12), pp.e0261384. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0261384⟩. ⟨hal-03524267⟩