The largest grant in the history of the Faculty of Arts of Comenius University will support research into loneliness and social isolation
Loneliness and social isolation are increasingly common in our society. Some experts even call the 21st century the times of loneliness. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people who feel lonely almost doubled, reaching 26% in some parts of Europe. The Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Arts decided to study this issue in a project named DISCONNECT. Their findings could contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon of loneliness and identify complex strategies of dealing with this alarming situation.
Researchers from the Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Arts of Comenius University in Bratislava (FARS) received a prestigious research grant from the Excellent Science scheme of the Recovery and Resilience Facility. "We are extremely happy that we managed to win this grant despite the strong competition. Over the next two years, this grant will enable us to carry out comprehensive research into the social, psychological and neurobiological underpinnings of loneliness and social isolation. We are planning to focus both on the general population, and also on people with mental disorders, who are at greater risk of loneliness and social isolation," explains research team leader, Associate Professor Michal Hajdúk. "We are very pleased that this ground-breaking research will be conducted at the Faculty of Arts of Comenius University. The DISCONNECT project represents significant progress in the field of psychological research in Slovakia, because it involves very diverse research methods and a thoroughly interdisciplinary approach," added Marián Zouhar, dean of FARS.
Loneliness and social isolation have a negative impact on overall physical and mental health. They increase the risk of premature death, because insufficient quality and quantity of social relationships are linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Even international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) have been adopting measures to raise awareness of this issue and developed a number of guidelines. The WHO Commission on Social Connections was created in recognition of this issue as a global public health priority. "We would like to follow up on these international initiatives. The DISCONNECT project is a pioneering way of obtaining a deep understanding of the issue, especially among the vulnerable population, which includes younger adults as well as older people," explains project leader Michal Hajdúk.
The project will launch with a large-scale epidemiological study on 3,000 subjects. "We hope to collect enough data to enable international comparisons, while at the same time identifying high-risk social groups in Slovakia. It will help us make informed decisions to battle against this problem,” Associate Professor Hajdúk stated. The project will make use of digital technologies to personalise patient contact along with modern neuroscientific methods. A well-equipped research lab will be created at the Department of Psychology to study the neurobiological mechanisms of loneliness and social isolation.
DISCONNECT is expected to contribute to increased awareness of loneliness and social isolation and to generate recommendations for the healthcare and social care sectors.
Learn more about the project at www.osamelost.sk.
The project is financed from NextGenerationEU of the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Slovakia as project no. 09103-03-V03-000.