Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated social distancing and lockdowns has caused unprecedented changes to social life. We consider the possible implications of these changes for mental health. Drawing from research on social ostracism emphasizing the importance of social connection for mental well-being, there is reason for concern regarding the mental health effects of the crisis. However, there are also reasons for optimism; people can be surprisingly resilient to stressful situations, the impact of ostracism tends to depend on social norms (which are rapidly changing), and mental health depends primarily on having at least one or two close social connections. Given the scale and unprecedented nature of the social disruption that occurred, we see strong reason for concern, but not despair.

Keywords

COVID-19 ostracism pandemic

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ackerman

Peterson

(2020). Terrorism and COVID-19. Perspectives on Terrorism, 14(3), 59–73. 10.2307/26918300

Baumeister

R. F.

Leary

M. R.

(1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497–529.

Blanchard

(2021). Virtual working within online groups. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430220983446

Brady

W. J.

Wills

J. A.

Jost

J. T.

Tucker

J. A.

Van Bavel

J. J.

(2017). Emotion shapes the diffusion of moralized content in social networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114(28), 7313–7318. https://doi-org.umiss.idm.oclc.org/10.1073/pnas.1618923114

Cameron

Tenenbaum

(2021). Lessons from developmental science to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 restrictions on social development. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 24, 231–236. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430220984236

Durkheim

(1973). Division of labor in society: Conclusion. In Bellah

R. N.

(Ed.), Emile Durkheim on morality and society. University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1893).

Fry

Passel

J. S.

Cohn

(2020, September). A majority of young adults in the U.S. live with their parents for the first time since the Great Depression. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/04/a-majority-of-young-adults-in-the-u-s-live-with-their-parents-for-the-first-time-since-the-great-depression/

Gelfand

Raver

J. L.

Nishii

Leslie

L. M.

Lun

Lim

B. C.

Duan

Almaliach

Ang

Arnadottir

Aycan

Boehnke

Boskie

Cabecinhas

Chan

Chhokar

D’Amata

Ferrer

Fishchlmayr

I. C.

… Yamaguchi

(2011). Differences between tight and loose cultures: A 33-nation study. Science, 332(6033), 1100–1104. 10.1126/science.1197754

Hales

A. H.

Dvir

Wesselmann

E. D.

Kruger

Finkenauer

(2018). Cellphone-induced ostracism threatens basic needs. The Journal of Social Psychology, 158(4), 460–473. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2018.1439877

10.

Hales

A. H.

Williams

K. D.

(2018). Marginalized individuals and extremism: The role of ostracism in openness to extreme groups. Journal of Social Issues, 74(1), 75–92. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12257

11.

Hales

A. H.

Williams

K. D.

(2020). Social ostracism: Theoretical foundations and basic principles. In Van Lange

P. A. M.

Higgins

E. T.

Kruglanski

A. W.

(Eds.), Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (3rd ed., pp. 337–349). Guilford.

12.

Hogg

M. A.

(2007). Uncertainty-identity theory. In Zanna

M. P.

(Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 39, pp. 69–126). Academic Press.

13.

Hogg

M. A.

Adelman

(2013). Uncertainty-identity theory: Extreme groups, radical behavior, and authoritarian leadership. Journal of Social Issues, 69(3), 436–454. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12023

14.

Kushlev

Proulx

J. D. E.

Dunn

E. W.

(2017). Digitally connected, socially disconnected: The effects of relying on technology rather than other people. Computers in Human Behavior, 76, 68–74. https://doi-org.umiss.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.07.001

15.

Leary

M. R.

(1999). Making sense of self-esteem. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8(1), 32–35. 10.1111/ 1467-8721.00008

16.

McGinty

E. E.

Presskreischer

Han

Barry

C. L.

(2020). Psychological distress and loneliness reported by US adults in 2018 and April 2020. Journal of the American Medical Association, 324(1), 93–94. 10.1001/jama.2020.9740

17.

Moghaddam

F. M.

(2005). The staircase to terrorism: A psychological exploration. American Psychologist, 60(2), 161–169. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.2.161

18.

Murphy

(2020, April). Why Zoom is terrible. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/29/sunday-review/zoom-video-conference.html

19.

Packer

Ungson

Marsh

(2021). Conformity and reactions to deviance in the time of COVID-19. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 24, 312–318. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430220981419

20.

Pennebaker

J. W.

Harbor

K. D.

(1993). A social stage model of collective coping: The Loma Prieta earthquake and the Persian Gulf War. Journal of Social Issues, 49(4), 125–145. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1993.tb01184.x

21.

Richter

(2020, March). The video apps we’re downloading amid the coronavirus pandemic. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/infographic-apps-pandemic-technology-data-coronavirus-covid19-tech/

22.

Rudert

S. C.

Greifeneder

(2016). When it’s okay that I don’t play: Social norms and the situated construal of social exclusion. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42(7), 955–969. https://doi-org.umiss.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/0146167216649606

23.

Shakya

H. B.

Christakis

N. A.

(2017). Association of Facebook use with compromised well-being: A longitudinal study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 185(3), 203–211. 10.1093/aje/kww189

24.

Twenge

J. M.

Baumeister

R. F.

Tice

D. M.

Stucke

T. S.

(2001). If you can’t join them, beat them: Effects of social exclusion on aggressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(6), 1058–1069. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.81.6.1058

25.

Wesselmann

E. D.

Cardoso

F. D.

Slater

Williams

K. D.

(2012). To be looked at as though air: Civil attention matters. Psychological Science, 23(2), 166–168. https://doi-org.umiss.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/0956797611427921

26.

Williams

K. D.

(2009). Ostracism: Effects of being excluded and ignored. In Zanna

M. P.

(Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 41, pp. 275–314). Academic Press.

27.

Williams

K. D.

Hales

A. H.

Michels

(2019). Social ostracism as a factor motivating interest in extreme groups. In Rudert

S. C.

Greifeneder

Williams

K. D.

(Eds.), Current directions in ostracism, social exclusion and rejection research (pp. 17 – 30). Routledge.

28.

Williamson

D. A.

(2020, June). Uptick in US adults’ social media usage will likely normalize post-pandemic. eMarketer. https://www.emarketer.com/content/uptick-us-adults-social-media-usage-will-likely-normalize-post-pandemic

29.

Wirth

J. H.

Sacco

D. F.

Hugenberg

Williams

K. D.

(2010). Eye gaze as relational evaluation: Averted eye gaze leads to feelings of ostracism and relational devaluation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(7), 869–882. https://doi-org.umiss.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/0146167210370032

30.

Zadro

Williams

K. D.

Richardson

(2004). How low can you go? Ostracism by a computer is sufficient to lower self-reported levels of belonging, control, self-esteem, and meaningful existence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 40, 560–567. 10.1016/j.jesp.2003.11.006

Navigating COVID-19: Insights from research on social ostracism

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References