The Effects of Control Measures and Social Networks on Depression Among Older People During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

This study examined the correlates of change in the depressed state among people aged 65 and older during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, particularly the effects of crucial pandemic-related variables. Data were drawn from the longitudinal Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), including information obtained from two special pandemic-related telephone interviews (N = 18, 266). The analysis regressed depressed state soon after the outbreak (T1) and again a year later (T2), on four pandemic-related variables (infection status, the stringency of control measures, and two forms of social network contact during the pandemic: face-to-face contact and communication through electronic means), controlling for baseline depression and health, sociodemographic variables, personality traits, and social network characteristics. The main findings were threefold. First, the epidemic-control measures were found to increase the likelihood of a depressed state soon after the pandemic outbreak, but not in the longer run. This data suggests that respondents became more resilient about the pandemic and its effects over time. Second, interpersonal contact utilizing electronic media did not reduce depression rates in the long run and increased depressed state in the short run. Thus, as mandated by epidemic-control policy, the promotion of electronic contact instead of face-to-face contact constituted a mental health risk factor. Third, face-to-face contact reduced the likelihood of change for the worse in the rate of depression among the respondents. This last finding underscores the need for older people to have close interpersonal contact, even in times of pandemic.