A troubled year: Life satisfaction during the pandemic

It will come as no surprise that mental well-being in the UK has declined during the coronavirus pandemic. Few studies, however, have examined which aspects of life satisfaction varied for different population groups during different waves of the pandemic. Here, we find out about research led by Dr Shih-Yi Chao which delves further into how different groups fared.

By comparing bi-monthly life satisfaction data collected in May 2020 to March 2021 with the same months in 2018-19, Dr Shih-Yi Chao, Professor Ann Berrington and Professor Brienna Perelli-Harris found that life satisfaction was consistently lower in 2020-21, and by March 2021 it still had not returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Those who are usually the least happy – the lowest-educated, unpartnered, and people out of work - experienced the lowest life satisfaction during the pandemic. However, the more advantaged also became less happy. In January 2021, when deaths were increasing rapidly and the UK was in a strict lockdown, even those who were normally satisfied with their lives became less satisfied. Gender differences also widened in this period; in January 2021 the drop in life satisfaction for women was 3.5 times greater than for men. By March 2021, life satisfaction had still not completely recovered to prepandemic levels.

To examine changes in life satisfaction the study team used the UK longitudinal household survey (UKHLS), a nationally representative survey, and its associated Covid-19 surveys. Wave 10 of the main survey was conducted between 2018 and 2019 and was used to understand what was going on before the pandemic. Each month of the wave 10 survey has responses from between 2,500-2,800 individuals. Individuals were asked “how satisfied are you currently with your life overall?” measured on a 7 point scale.

The same life satisfaction question was asked in May 2020 as part of the Covid-19 survey and then every other month until March 2021. The Covid-19 surveys include between 11,000-14,000 respondents. Middle-aged people in stable households were more likely to respond to these surveys, and while cross-sectional weights were applied, the surveys may not have captured low-income, disadvantaged individuals. This bias means that this study likely overestimates the overall level of life satisfaction, and the gap between 2018-19 and 2020-21 could be even larger than these findings suggest.

On the findings, Dr Chao said:

Undoubtedly, 2020-21, the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, was a troubled year for many people. Our study highlights the subjective well-being implications of the pandemic and lockdowns on society. During the crisis, characteristics such as having a partner that you live with, being employed and having a higher level of education may have offered protective effects on life satisfaction, widening socioeconomic differences.

She added:

The most disadvantaged already had lower levels of life satisfaction pre-pandemic, but the pandemic widened these differences. People in these groups usually have fewer fallback options and resources to draw upon. It is vital for policymakers to recognise this disparity to ensure the most vulnerable are not left behind as we move out of the pandemic crisis.

Further reading

A troubled year: Life satisfaction during the pandemic (CPC Policy Briefing 64)