Factors associated with loneliness in adults in England during the pandemic
A DCMS-commissioned research report on factors associated with loneliness in adults in England during the pandemic
Documents
Details
When the Tackling Loneliness Strategy was published in 2018, government committed to improving the evidence base on loneliness, making a compelling case for action, and ensuring everyone has the information they need to make informed decisions. Since then the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has worked with stakeholders to continue to build the evidence base.
Building on research to explore factors associated with loneliness in adults in England, DCMS commissioned NatCen to explore factors associated with loneliness in adults in England during the pandemic using survey data from the Community Life Survey 2020/21 and Understanding Society Wave 11 (2019-2021). The research examined the following questions:
- the predictors of loneliness during the pandemic
- the risk of chronic loneliness for people with protected characteristics during the pandemic
- whether any factors or experiences predicted resilience to chronic loneliness during the pandemic
This study identifies which groups were at higher risk of experiencing chronic loneliness during the pandemic period (March 2020 to March 2021), and explores which factors or experiences made someone more likely to be resilient to loneliness during this period.