Social Connectedness and Psychological Distress of Elders During Covid-19

The study aimed to investigate the relationship between social connectedness and psychological distress in elderly people during Covid-19. A total lack of social connections with people around during the pandemic may lead to psychological distress in people, especially the elderly. The sample of the present study consisted of 40 elderly people, aged 60 years and above. A purposive sampling technique was used to collect data from the sample. Data was collected using Google forms and the tools used to collect data included the Social Connectedness Scale-Revised (SCS-R) which was used to assess social connectedness and Kessler Psychological distress scale (K10) was used to measure psychological distress. Regression analysis was used to find out the relationship between social connectedness and psychological distress. The results indicate that there lies a significant negative relationship between social connectedness and psychological distress of elderly people indicating that psychological distress increases as social connectedness of elderly people decreases. Therefore, it is important to keep a check on the social connections of elderly people and take the required steps to improve their psychological well-being.