Stuck inside. A longitudinal study of older person´s experiences of COVID-19 restrictions

• Ignacio Llovet https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8289-1174
• Graciela Dinardi https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-1407
• Esteban Damiani https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6125-435X
• María Obdulia González Fernández https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5890-7666

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4965834

Abstract

In March 2020, the Argentinean government established the mandatory and preventive social isolation of the entire population. The isolation lasted for eight months and led to a sudden change in the social and individual life of the residents of Buenos Aires City. This measure had a drastic and direct impact on people’s emotional well-being. The purpose of this article is to explore the subjective experience of 319 participants of 65 years of age and over, residents of Buenos Aires City, focusing on their feelings, emotions, and their own assessment of the gains experienced during the mandatory social isolation. Using data collected through a three-wave panel survey, we examine the temporal variability of the responses. The questionnaires ran between June and August 2020, during which time the epidemiological curve reached its highest levels. For the analysis of the textual data, we used a content analysis approach. A typology of emotion trajectories was developed, reporting both stable and oscillating characteristics that account for positive or negative emotional valences. Most cases show oscillating emotion trajectories that show a shift towards negative valences. The study observed that women experience emotional discomfort to a greater extent than men.

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