Network Structure among Optimism, Social Interaction, and Psychological Wellbeing during COVID-19 Lockdown: Findings from Four UK Cohort Studies

Though prior studies have found that optimism and social interactions are negatively associated with psychological distress during the COVID-19 situation, they have not considered the possibility of changes in internal linkages between these variables under different situations, across multiple cohorts. This study aims to explore how psychological resources and coping measures related to social interaction influence psychological wellbeing in various environmental contexts across distinct cohorts. The study conducted descriptive and psychological network analysis on data from four UK population studies: National Child Development Study (NCDS), 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70), Next Steps (NS), and Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) at September–October 2020 and February–March 2021 waves of the pandemic. The findings demonstrated that younger participants (MCS cohort) were the most vulnerable while the aging people (NCDS cohort) were the most resilient population despite the severity of the pandemic. Optimism played a key role in buffering psychological wellbeing across all cohorts during the pandemic. The association of coping measures with social interaction and psychological wellbeing changed as lockdown and gathering policies changed. Finally, not all social-interaction-related coping measures were equally useful for every cohort. This study elucidates the role of psychological and social resources in psychological wellbeing during the pandemic, which shed light on practical implications and future research.