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Loneliness, a significant public health issue, was exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in disaster-prone regions like the U.S. Gulf Coast. This study examined how social and built environmental factors were associated with pandemic-related disruptions and loneliness among respondents from the third wave of the Survey of Trauma, Resilience, and Opportunity among Neighborhoods in the Gulf (STRONG). Using a retrospective measure of loneliness (pre-pandemic vs. during pandemic), we found that loneliness increased significantly during the pandemic. Using a measure of routine behavior disruptions and measures of both objective (e.g., parks, walkability, etc.) and subjective (e.g., neighborhood safety, social cohesion, etc.) environmental factors, we found that disruptions to daily routines strongly predicted higher loneliness, and subjective measures, such as neighborhood safety, social cohesion, and lacking post-disaster social support, were more salient predictors of loneliness than objective factors such as the number of parks in one’s neighborhood. Difficulty accessing green spaces and housing distress were linked to greater COVID-19 disruptions, indirectly contributing to loneliness. These findings highlight the importance of safe, supportive, and accessible social and physical environments in mitigating loneliness and enhancing community resilience during crises. 

The Study of Trauma, Resilience, and Opportunity among Neighborhoods in the Gulf III, hereafter referred to as STRONG III, is a survey conducted among a randomly selected, representative sample of adult residents of 56 counties located in the coastal areas along the Gulf of Mexico, spanning 5 states (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida). This is a re-contact study of STRONG I and STRONG II, the data for which are archived on GRIIDC, a Gulf Science Data Repository. The original STRONG I sample comprised 2,520 respondents, where as the re-contact efforts in STRONG III yielded responses from 599 participants in the Gulf region. The survey evaluates a broad range of topics including living conditions, neighborhood satisfaction and safety, social cohesion, neighborhood walkability, home environment, COVID-19 experiences and risks, COVID-19 disruptions to routine behaviors, COVID-19 service impacts, COVID-19 employment impacts, social resources, storm experiences, physical health, alcohol consumption, mental health, healthcare access, trauma, food security, political efficacy, and sociodemographics. mail questionnaire; telephone interview; web-based survey;