PANDEMIC
The Psychological Impact of Quarantine During the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Sarah Singleton, Biochemistry Major, 2021
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idespread measures have been taken since March of 2020 to slow the spread of COVID-19, including stay-at-home and quarantine orders.1 While the exact measures vary based on certain criteria such as state, population, number of cases, the instance of infection, and so on, residents around the globe are experiencing or have experienced a period of quarantine. With inperson events on hold, society has adjusted to a new virtual way of life. Today, online gatherings, online school, and remote work are commonplace, but what exactly are the effects of increased screen time and isolation on the human psyche? The prevalence of this protocol, or more specifically this new distanced and isolated lifestyle, demands an evaluation of its psychological effects. To understand the impacts, a brief review of the theories on short and long-term mental health effects, as well as the resources rising up to meet psychological needs, is necessary.
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The idea of quarantine is far from new. In fact, quarantining has been used as a way to isolate and slow the spread of infectious diseases since the bubonic plague, but more recently during the Spanish Flu in 1918-19 and the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.2 At the beginning of the current COVID-19 pandemic, Qiu et al. (2020) performed a countrywide survey that included 52,730 people in China and found that approximately 35% of the participants reported psychological distress.3 These results reinforce those of the Kaiser Family Foundation survey conducted in mid-July of 2020, in which 53% of adults in the USA report that their mental health has been negatively affected by the worry and stress of the pandemic, compared to the 32% reported about four months prior.4 Bonifacio et al. (2020) reflects on the fact that the, “...ambiguity and uncontrollability of the threat (e.g., the coronavirus), its invisible and unpredictable character, the lethality of the invader or the possible lack of rigor of the information given by the media may, by themselves, generate the same psychological alterations”.5 Of course, these negative emotions are not the crux of the issue, but rather the predecessors of anxiety, depression, and an increase of suicide rates.
The 2003 SARS epidemic in Hong Kong may act as a representative example of the situation, with feelings of social disengagement, anxiety, and fear of being a burden indicated as causes for the dramatic increase in suicide rates among the elderly.6 Other contributing factors include the length of the isolation period7, increase in screen time, and a predisposition to psychiatric disorders (Figure 1).8 According to Serafini et al. (2020), extended periods of quarantining create a prolonged state of stress, which can exacerbate existing conditions.7 A survey conducted with 150 physiotherapy students during the COVID-19 lockdown found that “48% of the students believe that excessive hours spent in front of the screen has affected their physical well being and 28.7% of students reported negative effects on their mental health”.8 While many students may find themselves in a situation where excessive screen time is unavoidable, the same survey found one factor that significantly decreased the negative effects of screen time: exercise.8 About 65% of the survey sample that exercised in some fashion reported positive effects on both mental and physical health.7
Figure 1: Summary of the most relevant psychological reactions in the general population related to COVID-19 infection. Adapted directly from Oxford University Press.7
