Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Feb 21;20(5):3855.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20053855.

Longing for Touch and Quality of Life during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Birgit Hasenack  1   2 , Larissa L Meijer  1 , Jonas C C Kamps  1 , Andy Mahon  1 , Giulia Titone  1 , H Chris Dijkerman  1 , Anouk Keizer  1
Affiliations

Longing for Touch and Quality of Life during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Birgit Hasenack et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

To combat the spread of the COVID-19, regulations were introduced to limit physical interactions. This could induce a longing for touch in the general population and subsequently impact social, psychological, physical and environmental quality of life (QoL). The aim of this study was to investigate the potential association between COVID-19 regulations, longing for touch and QoL. A total of 1978 participants from different countries completed an online survey, including questions about their general wellbeing and the desire to be touched. In our sample, 83% of participants reported a longing for touch. Longing for touch was subsequently associated with a lower physical, psychological and social QoL. No association was found with environmental QoL. These findings highlight the importance of touch for QoL and suggest that the COVID-19 regulations have concurrent negative consequences for the wellbeing of the general population.

Keywords: COVID-19; longing for touch; quality of life; touch deprivation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Floyd K. Relational and Health Correlates of Affection Deprivation. West. J. Commun. 2014;78:383–403. doi: 10.1080/10570314.2014.927071. - DOI
    1. Dunbar R.I. The social role of touch in humans and primates: Behavioural function and neurobiological mechanisms. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 2010;34:260–268. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.07.001. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Grewen K.M., Anderson B.J., Girdler S.S., Light K.C. Warm Partner Contact Is Related to Lower Cardiovascular Reactivity. Behav. Med. 2003;29:123–130. doi: 10.1080/08964280309596065. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Pawling R., Trotter P.D., McGlone F.P., Walker S.C. A positive touch: C-tactile afferent targeted skin stimulation carries an appetitive motivational value. Biol. Psychol. 2017;129:186–194. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.08.057. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Field T. Touch. MIT Press; Cambridge, MA, USA: 2014.

Publication types

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Utrecht University, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Science COVID-19 Fund.