Social connectedness in older Urban African-American adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: the roles of education and partnership.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined education, partnership status, and the moderating role of the lockdown period on social connectedness during the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of urban African-American older adults.

METHODS: Five hundred thirty-four African-American adults living in Detroit (91.0% female, M = 74.53) reported demographic information pre-pandemic and answered one social connectedness questionnaire between April and December 2020.

RESULTS: Participants interviewed after the lockdown (post-June 2020) reported more loneliness than those interviewed during the lockdown (April-June, 2020). Married/partnered participants reported less loneliness and social isolation. Loneliness did not differ between those with high education levels interviewed during the lockdown compared to post-lockdown. However, among individuals with low education levels, those interviewed after the lockdown reported more loneliness than those interviewed during the lockdown period.

CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest partnership status is associated with more social connectedness during the pandemic and education accentuates the effects of forced isolation related to loneliness among urban African-American older adults.