Social butterflies are able to cope with isolation just as well as introverts

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Social butterflies are able to cope with isolation just as well as introverts and do not appear to have been harder hit by coronavirus social distancing measures, study shows

  • Researchers surveyed 800 adults currently in lockdown from the UK and the US
  • They asked them whether they had a preference or aversion to being alone
  • Respondents were surveyed about their mental health over a two-week period 
  • The team found no significant difference in the effect of lockdown in extroverts
  • Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

By Ian Randall For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Social butterflies are able to cope with isolation just as well as introverts and do not appear to have been harder hit by COVID-19 social distancing, a study has found. 

Researchers surveyed more than 800 adults in lockdown and found that a preference against solitude was not significantly more likely to lead to ill effects.

Experts believe that somewhere between 24–50 per cent of households in the UK and the US that are self-isolating are occupied by individual people on their own. 

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Social butterflies are able to cope with isolation just as well as introverts and do not appear to have been harder hit by COVID-19 social distancing, a study has found

In their study, psychologists Netta Weinstein of the University of Reading and Thuy-Vy Nguyen of Durham University surveyed 823 adults aged 35 or over from the UK and the US who had been living along during the lockdown against COVID-19.

Over a two-week period, each participant was asked about their feelings of depression, anxiety or loneliness — along with the different stressors that they had experienced during lockdown.

The researchers also asked respondents to detail whether they had a general preference for or aversion towards solitude.

‘While self-isolating is an effective strategy to “flatten the curve” of coronavirus infections by preventing the risks of contracting the virus, it may have psychological consequences,’ the researchers wrote of their motivations to conduct the study.

Dispositional preference to be alone, and motivation for self-isolation, may both mitigate the potential psychological costs,’ they theorised.

However, the researchers did not find evidence of a significant difference in negative effects between social butterflies and individuals who prefer being alone.

Experts believe that somewhere between 24¿50 per cent of households in the UK and the US that are self-isolating are occupied by individual people on their own

Experts believe that somewhere between 24–50 per cent of households in the UK and the US that are self-isolating are occupied by individual people on their own

‘One might conclude that the absence of evidence for increased ill-being reflects resilience in the face of self-isolation,’ the researchers wrote.

‘However, such an interpretation is unwarranted without additional data that speak directly to the mechanisms underlying resilience,’ they added. 

The researchers noted, however, that they did not track how the lockdown experience might have altered the participants feelings towards solitude in general.

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO DIE OF LONELINESS

Research suggests it is possible to ‘die of loneliness’.

A major study published March 2018 suggested social isolation can increase the chance of a stroke by 39 per cent and premature death by 50 per cent.

Loneliness may raise the risk of a heart attack by more than 40 per cent, researchers found.

The analysis was based on the health records of 480,000 Britons – making it the largest study of its kind.

Those who already had cardiovascular problems were far more likely to die early if they were isolated, suggesting the importance of family and friends in aiding recovery.

The research team, which included British academics, said lonely people had a higher rates of chronic diseases and smoking and showed more symptoms of depression.