Dr. Catherine Salmon is an evolutionary psychologist who can speak to the impact on mental health resulting from COVID-related quarantine that has limited and continues to limit or eliminate opportunities to attend school in person, socialize, participate in group activities and sports, and engage in holiday traditions and activities.
"There are a number of factors that play a role here. One is that we should remember humans are a social species. For most of our history, we've lived in small family groups, even in the modern urban world, people feel the desire to be connected to family. And we evolved in a world of face-to-face contact, not one of social media. So even at the best of times, the modern world can lead to mental health problems for people who feel isolated from friends and family (due to moving for jobs/school, etc.) and this can be compounded now by increased forced isolation due to fears of COVID or the rules authorities lay down. Depression and anxiety are on the rise, and this is a likely contributor," Salmon says.
Biography :
Dr. Catherine Salmon is a psychologist, a professor at the University of Redlands and, the co-author (with Donald Symons) of Warrior Lovers: Erotic Fiction, Evolution, and Female Sexuality as well as The Secret Power of Middle Children in collaboration with Katrin Schumann. She has written chapters in numerous books including The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and is an associate editor at the journal Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, as well as the co-editor of the books Evolutionary Psychology: Public Policy and Personal Decisions (with Charles Crawford) and Family Psychology: An Evolutionary Perspective (with Todd Shackelford).
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