The COVID-19 pandemic, an external stressor with multiple stressful sequelae, has fundamentally changed people's lives over multiple years. In this article, we first review research demonstrating that the pandemic has negatively impacted people's sense of belonging and health over time. Next, we draw upon decades of theoretical and empirical work demonstrating that threats to belonging and mental health problems are highly interrelated, with increases in the former driving increases in the latter. We then extend this discussion to physical health, drawing upon a wealth of theoretical and empirical work demonstrating that threats to belonging are a risk factor for longer term health problems and premature mortality. We also highlight potential mechanisms linking threats to belonging and health, with a focus on sleep and immune function. Throughout, we review how pre-existing vulnerabilities may moderate these processes. We conclude with empirically supported recommendations for policymakers interested in addressing these issues.

中文翻译：

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对归属感和健康的威胁：利用数十年的研究了解 COVID-19 大流行的影响

COVID-19 大流行是一种具有多种压力后遗症的外部压力源，多年来从根本上改变了人们的生活。在本文中，我们首先回顾研究表明，随着时间的推移，大流行对人们的归属感和健康产生了负面影响。接下来，我们利用数十年的理论和实证工作证明，归属感和心理健康问题的威胁是高度相关的，前者的增加推动了后者的增加。然后，我们将这一讨论扩展到身体健康，利用大量理论和实证工作证明归属感威胁是长期健康问题和过早死亡的风险因素。我们还强调了将威胁与归属感和健康联系起来的潜在机制，重点是睡眠和免疫功能。在整个过程中，我们回顾了预先存在的漏洞如何缓和这些过程。最后，我们为有兴趣解决这些问题的政策制定者提供了经验支持的建议。