What does loneliness do to people through the corona restriction? A study is now delivering initial results, both surprising and explosive.
- How does the corona virus * change the mood of the population?
- A study investigates this question - and speaks of depression and bullying.
- Women, in particular, are suffering from isolation.
- Here you will find the basic facts about the corona virus * and the corona news from Germany . You can also find current case numbers in Germany here as a map *. The following recommendations for corona protective measures * are currently available. All information is also available on our new Facebook page Corona News .
Berlin - There are limitations in containing the coronavirus pandemic . They relate above all to social interaction: The encounter with other people takes place only minimally, in the meantime only contact with one's own family was allowed * and social life took place primarily within one's own four walls.
Corona virus in Germany: what does the crisis do to us? Study delivers explosive results
The strict measures have now been loosened up a bit, but social distancing , the limited proximity to other people, remains. What does this crisis situation do to people? A study provides the first answers.
The Federal College of Public Administration in Berlin collected empirical data from 533 people in Germany and asked about their mood during the corona pandemic . Since the study is currently also being carried out in the USA, which is severely affected by Covid-19, there are no final results yet, but the first trends are already emerging.
Coronavirus in Germany: Crisis Restrictions - Professor Speaks of Depression and Bullying
Above all, the people who adhered to the corona restrictions had a lower self-esteem, less sense of control and a meaningful reason for being, because "important basic psychological needs of people are withdrawn with social exclusion", as Professor Michaela Pfundmair told Bild (Article behind payment barrier) explained.
Limiting these “basic needs” could ultimately lead to depression. The results also show "similarly high effect strengths" as in bullying.
Corona virus in Germany: being alone in a crisis becomes a problem - younger people are surprisingly more affected
According to the preliminary results of the study, surprisingly younger people and not older people, who were not allowed to see their loved ones for several weeks due to ban on visits to nursing homes, fared particularly badly in times of social distancing .
In the population group, the use of social media apparently intensified the feeling of loneliness, because “the greater the social media use , the less control they felt,” explains Pfundmair. However, it was helpful to interact digitally with friends through, for example, a video call: "It compensated."
Social networks like Instagram or Facebook increased the effect of being alone, while video calls compensated for it.
© picture alliance / dpa / Robert Günther
Coronavirus in Germany: study of time during restrictions - women also badly affected
In addition to younger people, women in particular are said to have been more affected by social isolation. In addition, people who continued to work fared better than people who were sent on short-time work or released. Students who started the new semester after Easter also complained of being alone.
It is not yet known how well being affects a person's aggression. However, the professor suspects that frustration ultimately leads to aggression, because "Such processes are now certainly increased in the Corona period."
Ultimately, it can be concluded from the preliminary results of the study: keeping your distance protects against an infection with the coronavirus - but can still make you ill.
It is also clear that the focus is increasingly on science in the current exceptional situation - quick answers are expected. The Robert Koch Institute has now started a “special” study while British researchers are working on training dogs for a possible corona smell.
* merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network
