TABLE 2.
Social connectedness and mental health (N = 1,209; Well-Being Survey 2018–2019 and health insurance claims data 2017–2019, United States).
| Characteristic | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | p-value for one-sided t-test for paired observations | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–2018 | 2018–2019 | ||||
| Social connectedness (0–10) | — | 7.36 | 7.58 | — | <0.001 |
| Items of social connectedness | |||||
| My relationships are as satisfying as I would want them to be; (0–10); mean (SD) | — | 7.10 (2.20) | 7.46 (2.00) | — | <0.001 |
| There are people who really understand me; (0–10); mean (SD) | — | 7.88 (2.09) | 8.08 (1.95) | <0.001 | |
| How often do you feel lonely?; reversed; (0–10); mean (SD) | — | 2.25 (2.39) | 2.39 (2.47) | — | 0.012 |
| I am content with my friendships and relationships; (0–10); mean (SD) | — | 7.57 (2.09) | 7.85 (1.98) | — | <0.001 |
| I have enough people I feel comfortable asking for help at any time; (0–10); mean (SD) | — | 7.69 (2.35) | 7.90 (2.18) | — | <0.001 |
| I feel connected to the broader community around me; (0–10); mean (SD) | — | 6.66 (2.26) | 7.04 (2.16) | — | <0.001 |
| People in my broader community trust and respect one another; (0–10); mean (SD) | — | 6.88 (2.00) | 7.18 (1.94) | — | <0.001 |
| Mental health outcomes from health insurance records | |||||
| Depression, % | 9.59 | 10.42 | 12.65 | 0.070 | <0.001 |
| Anxiety, % | 12.66 | 12.16 | 13.40 | 0.760 | 0.062 |
Note. “—” stands for outcome not measured; p-value for one-sided t-test for paired observations for changes in diagnosed depression between 2017 and 2019: p < 0.001; p-value for one-sided t-test for paired observations for changes in diagnosed anxiety between 2017 and 2019: p-value = 0.219.
Adapted from [26]. CC BY-NC-ND.