Affective touch perception and longing for touch during the COVID-19 pandemic

Larissa L. Meijer, B. Hasenack, J. C. C. Kamps, A. Mahon, G. Titone, H. C. Dijkerman,A. Keizer, ‘Affective touch perception and longing for touch during the COVID-19 pandemic’, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-07213-4, Scientific Reports, Springer Nature Limited (10 March 2022)

We conducted an online survey and included 1982 participants, which contained questions regarding the COVID-19 regulations, longing for touch, and the perceived pleasantness of affective and non-affective touch. Results showed that participants reported feelings of longing for touch. This significantly increased with the duration and severity of the COVID-19 regulations. In addition, participants who experienced more longing for touch rated videos of affective and non-affective touch as more pleasant. Current results provide insight in the impact of sudden and prolonged COVID-19 regulations.

Bron

Meijer, L.L., Hasenack, B., Kamps, J.C.C. et al. Affective touch perception and longing for touch during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sci Rep 12, 3887 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07213-4