During the Covid pandemic, there has been a considerable focus on the potential impact social distancing measures had on things such as mental health. Research from Nottingham Trent University reveals that while such behaviors can indeed be harmful, their impact can be buffered if they’re done as part of a community.

The researchers took frequent surveys involving around 6,500 people from 115 countries during the first few months of the pandemic. The surveys recorded the wellbeing of participants as well as their perceived vulnerability to the virus and the adherence to social distancing measures within their social circle.

Social alignment

The researchers were particularly interested in the level to which people’s behaviors aligned with those around them. The results show that so long as everyone around us is also complying then the negative impacts of social distance can be mitigated. Indeed, those reporting the highest wellbeing tended to be those who followed the guidelines to the letter.

The researchers believe that it was the social alignment with others that was largely responsible for the wellbeing people felt rather than any general increase in the protection they gained from the virus itself.

“When the pandemic first hit, many people were unsure about what the right thing to do was. Distancing ourselves from loved ones felt unnatural and very hard to do,” the researchers explain. “Among our findings we saw that reduced stress was associated with relinquishing individual responsibility about decisions in threatening and uncertain situations. Hence, following the guidelines may have boosted well-being by reducing the burden of individual responsibility during the pandemic.”

Suffice to say, the authors are at pains to point out that they don’t think their findings diminish the concerns around things such as loneliness, anxiety, and depression. They do say, however, that there should not be an assumed link between social distancing and harm to our wellbeing.

“There are lessons here for other global challenges requiring change in our everyday behaviors—it’s not how unusual the behaviors are that matters, but rather how much social alignment and cohesion exists,” they conclude. “Social alignment can help us share experiences and decrease the burden of individual responsibility, which is especially helpful during threatening and uncertain situations such as the pandemic. These findings suggest that creating a cohesive community can foster well-being even in the most challenging of times.”