The association of love status with mental health and quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ljubavni status pokazao se kao bitna odrednica kvalitete života pojedinca, osobito u situacijama promjene svakodnevnice kada prevladava osjećaj nesigurnosti i iščekivanja. Jedna od takvih situacija je upravo COVID-19 pandemija uzrokovana koronavirusom (SARS-CoV- 2). Stoga je cilj ovoga istraživanja bio ispitati odnos ljubavnog statusa s mentalnim zdravljem i kvalitetom života pojedinca tijekom COVID-19 pandemije te dodatno ustvrditi doprinose određenih karakteristika pojedinca prilikom objašnjavanja mentalnog zdravlja i kvalitete života. Istraživanje je provedeno online upitnikom na uzorku od 166 sudionika. Udio žena u ovom prigodnom uzorku bio je 63,3%, dok je preostalih 36,7% bilo muškaraca. Korišteni mjerni instrumenti u upitniku su redom: Upitnik sociodemografskih podataka konstruiran isključivo za potrebe ovog istraživanja, Skala zadovoljstva životom, Skala socijalne i emocionalne usamljenosti, Skala smisla života, Skala depresivnosti, anksioznosti i stresa. Ovim istraživanjem utvrđena je povezanost ljubavnog statusa s mentalnim zdravljem i kvalitetom života tijekom COVID-19 pandemije na način da oni pojedinci koji su u romantičnom odnosu iskazuju veće zadovoljstvo životom što upućuje i na njegovu veću kvalitetu te imaju više razine mentalnog zdravlja. Rezultati regresijske analize ukazuju na to da oni pojedinci koji su zadovoljniji životom percipiraju manje razine usamljenosti, a muškarci, ispitanici koji imaju više smisla u životu i percipiraju manje razine usamljenosti imaju bolje mentalno zdravlje. Navedenim varijablama objašnjeno je 35% varijance zadovoljstva životom te 42% mentalnog zdravlja ispitanika tijekom COVID-19 pandemije. Ovi rezultati mogu se koristiti kao osnova prilikom daljnjeg istraživanja ljubavnog statusa i njegovih pozitivnih utjecaja na pojedinca.Love status has proven to be an important determinant of an individual's quality of life, especially in situations of changing everyday life when feelings of insecurity and anticipation prevail. One such situation is the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship of love status with an individual's mental health and quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic and to further establish the contributions of certain individual characteristics in explaining mental health and quality of life. The research was conducted with an online questionnaire on a sample of 166 participants. The share of women in this sample was 63.3%, while the remaining 36.7% were men. The measuring instruments used in the questionnaire are in order: Sociodemographic data questionnaire constructed exclusively for the purposes of this research, Satisfaction with life scale, Social and emotional loneliness scale for adults, Purpose in life test, Depression, anxiety and stress scale. This study found a relationship between love status and mental health and quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic in such a way that those individuals who are in a romantic relationship show greater life satisfaction, which indicates its higher quality and higher levels of mental health. The results of the regression analysis indicate that those individuals who are more satisfied with life perceive lower levels of loneliness, and men, respondents who have more meaning in life and perceive lower levels of loneliness have better mental health. These variables explained 35% of the variance in life satisfaction and 42% of the mental health of the respondents during the COVID-19 pandemic. These results can be used as a basis for further research on love status and its positive effects on the individual