Social isolation, economic downturn, and mental health: An empirical evidence from COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia

Background

Indonesia's population have experienced social restriction and economic downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic which raised questions on how this predicament is associated with mental wellbeing.

Aims

To examine the association between social isolation and economic shock with an individual's mental health condition during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia.

Methods

Phone survey was conducted with 1,082 respondents who were mobile phone users and within the age range of 15–65 years old in the country. The relation between isolation and economic downturn with perceived mental health indicators were analyzed by comparing the distribution of respondents’ response using Chi-squared test. In addition, a logistic regression was performed to analyse their association.

Results

While social isolation (decreased frequency of social gathering and increased spare time) during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with several indicators of negative mental health, social restrictions were solely related to work-related stress. Financial strain was linked to a decrease in perceived mental health (all indicators), but job loss was only correlated with helpless feelings, and lower job status was unrelated to perceived mental health indicators.

Conclusions

Significant portion of respondents reported deterioration in mental health conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, predicted partly by isolation and financial strain. This finding highlights the need for public health measures to address mental health crises during the pandemic, particularly to those affected by isolation and economic downturn.