Group-specific contact and sense of connectedness during the COVID-19 pandemic and its associations with psychological well-being, perceived stress, and work-life balance

Abstract

Theories of social cure, sense of community, and social identity suggest that feelings of connectedness affect how we have coped with the COVID-19 pandemic. Although people can feel connected to a variety of different groups, such as their family, friends, co-workers, neighbours, nation, or all humanity, previous research has focused on connectedness to only a subset of these groups. To examine the relative importance of connectedness to and contact with specific groups for well-being, stress, and work-life balance during the pandemic, we conducted a longitudinal experience sampling study (N = 578) during the first 8 weeks of the Spring 2020 COVID-19 lockdown in Germany. Feeling connected to family members most strongly predicted psychological well-being (positively) and perceived stress (negatively) during the lockdown, followed by a sense of connectedness with friends and neighbours. Sense of connectedness to other groups did not predict well-being, stress, or work-life balance when controlling for the respective other groups. Hence, it not only matters whether or not a person feels connected to a group but also to which specific group he or she feels connected.