M Oberndorfer1, E Stolz2, T E Dorner3. 1. Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom. 2. Institute of Social Medicine and Epidemiology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. Electronic address: erwin.stolz@medunigraz.at. 3. Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to describe how population-level subjective well-being (SWB) evolved throughout the pandemic. STUDY DESIGN: Thirty waves of panel data representative of the Austrian population aged ≥14 years were collected between March 2020 and March 2022. Participants were quota sampled from a pre-existing online panel based on key demographics closely mirroring the Austrian resident population. METHODS: We present wave-specific means of SWB throughout 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic next to the evolution of the pandemic (cases and deaths) and stringency of lockdown measures in Austria as well as estimate their bivariate correlations. RESULTS: The analysed sample consisted of 3,293 participants contributing to a total of 46,168 observations. All components of SWB - negative affect, positive affect and life satisfaction - showed population-level fluctuation between March 2020 and March 2022. The magnitude of these changes was small. Population-level SWB correlated with the incidence rate of COVID-19 deaths (negative affect: r = 0.69, positive affect: r = -0.70, life satisfaction: r = -0.47), the Stringency Index (negative affect = 0.50, positive affect = -0.47, life satisfaction = -0.47) and less so with the incidence of COVID-19 cases (negative affect = 0.43, positive affect = -0.31, life satisfaction = -0.38). CONCLUSIONS: Population-level SWB fluctuated in accordance with rises and falls in COVID-19 cases and deaths as well as with the stringency of lockdown measures. This connection suggests that incidence of COVID-19 cases and deaths, as well as public health measures to contain the pandemic affect population-level SWB and could thereby impact population health and productivity.
OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to describe how population-level subjective well-being (SWB) evolved throughout the pandemic. STUDY DESIGN: Thirty waves of panel data representative of the Austrian population aged ≥14 years were collected between March 2020 and March 2022. Participants were quota sampled from a pre-existing online panel based on key demographics closely mirroring the Austrian resident population. METHODS: We present wave-specific means of SWB throughout 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic next to the evolution of the pandemic (cases and deaths) and stringency of lockdown measures in Austria as well as estimate their bivariate correlations. RESULTS: The analysed sample consisted of 3,293 participants contributing to a total of 46,168 observations. All components of SWB - negative affect, positive affect and life satisfaction - showed population-level fluctuation between March 2020 and March 2022. The magnitude of these changes was small. Population-level SWB correlated with the incidence rate of COVID-19 deaths (negative affect: r = 0.69, positive affect: r = -0.70, life satisfaction: r = -0.47), the Stringency Index (negative affect = 0.50, positive affect = -0.47, life satisfaction = -0.47) and less so with the incidence of COVID-19 cases (negative affect = 0.43, positive affect = -0.31, life satisfaction = -0.38). CONCLUSIONS: Population-level SWB fluctuated in accordance with rises and falls in COVID-19 cases and deaths as well as with the stringency of lockdown measures. This connection suggests that incidence of COVID-19 cases and deaths, as well as public health measures to contain the pandemic affect population-level SWB and could thereby impact population health and productivity.
Authors: Thomas Hale; Noam Angrist; Rafael Goldszmidt; Beatriz Kira; Anna Petherick; Toby Phillips; Samuel Webster; Emily Cameron-Blake; Laura Hallas; Saptarshi Majumdar; Helen Tatlow Journal: Nat Hum Behav Date: 2021-03-08
Authors: Kishan Patel; Elaine Robertson; Alex S F Kwong; Gareth J Griffith; Kathryn Willan; Michael J Green; Giorgio Di Gessa; Charlotte F Huggins; Eoin McElroy; Ellen J Thompson; Jane Maddock; Claire L Niedzwiedz; Morag Henderson; Marcus Richards; Andrew Steptoe; George B Ploubidis; Bettina Moltrecht; Charlotte Booth; Emla Fitzsimons; Richard Silverwood; Praveetha Patalay; David Porteous; Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi Journal: JAMA Netw Open Date: 2022-04-01