Prevalence and predictors of general psychiatric disorders and loneliness during COVID-19 in the United Kingdom
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Abstract
Despite ample research on the prevalence of specific psychiatric disorders during COVID-19, we know little about the broader psychological impact of the pandemic on a wider population. The study investigates the prevalence and predictors of general psychiatric disorders measured by the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and frequency of loneliness during COVID-19 in the United Kingdom, a country heavily hit by the pandemic. We analyzed 15,530 respondents of the first large-scale, nationally representative survey of COVID-19 in a developed country, the first wave of Understanding Society COVID-19 Study. Results show that 29.2% of the respondents score 4 or more, the caseness threshold, on the general psychiatric disorder measure, and 35.86% of the respondents sometimes or often feel lonely. Regression analyses show that those who have or had COVID-19-related symptoms are more likely to develop general psychiatric disorders and are lonelier. Women and young people have higher risks of general psychiatric disorders and loneliness, while having a job and living with a partner are protective factors. This study showcases the psychological impact, including general psychiatric disorders and loneliness, of broader members of the society during COVID-19 and the underlying social inequalities.
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Loneliness has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“some reports have suggested that loneliness has increased during this pandemic (Killgore et al., 2020, Li and Wang, 2020).”
From Loneliness and problematic mobile phone use among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: The roles of escape motivation and self-control (2021) · cites this paper as Li and Wang, 2020
In the UK, 36% of respondents reported feeling sometimes or often lonely during COVID-19.
“In the UK, 36% of respondents reported feeling sometimes or often lonely during COVID-19 [39]”
From Loneliness in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-sectional results from the COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing Study (2020) · cites this paper as [39]
Being younger, female, having lower socioeconomic status, a pre-existing mental health condition, and living alone increased the odds of being lonely.
“Being younger, female [39–41], having lower socioeconomic status, a pre-existing mental health condition, and living alone increased the odds of being lonely [40,41].”
From Loneliness in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-sectional results from the COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing Study (2020) · cites this paper as [39]
The prevalence of loneliness in the current study falls between rates in the US (43%) and the UK (14%-36%).
“Considering research during the pandemic, prevalence in the current study falls between rates in the US (43%) and the UK (14%-36%) [36,39,40].”
From Loneliness in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-sectional results from the COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing Study (2020) · cites this paper as [39]
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Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
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Background
- Authors
- Li, L. Z., & Wang, S.
- Affiliations
- Stanford University (US)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Wang, Senhu
- Venue
- Psychiatry Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-09
- Volume
- 291
- Pages
- 113267
- ISSN
- 0165-1781 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7326403
- OpenAlex
- W3039041384
- Cited by
- 551
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 61 · 2023: 83 · 2022: 164 · 2021: 177 · 2020: 26
- FWCI
- 44.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Psychiatry Research (publishedVersion)
- medRxiv (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Apollo (University of Cambridge) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Apollo
- Funders
- National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences (19ZDA149)
- Nanjing University
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic, loneliness, GHQ-12, prevalence, predictive factors, social inequality, gender differences, youth, employment, living with a partner, psychological impact of pandemic, United Kingdom
- MeSH terms
- Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Mental Disorders, Female, United Kingdom, Health Surveys, Humans, Loneliness, Male, Middle Aged, Pneumonia, Viral, Risk Factors, Prevalence, Coronavirus Infections, Young Adult, Pandemics
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