The Costs of the COVID-19 on Subjective Well-Being: An Analysis of the Outbreak in Spain

Ana Blasco-Belled, Claudia Tejada-Gallardo, Cristina Torrelles-Nadal and Carles Alsinet
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Ana Blasco-Belled: Department of Psychology, University of Lleida, 25001 Lleida, Spain
Claudia Tejada-Gallardo: Department of Psychology, University of Lleida, 25001 Lleida, Spain
Cristina Torrelles-Nadal: Department of Psychology, University of Lleida, 25001 Lleida, Spain
Carles Alsinet: Department of Psychology, University of Lleida, 25001 Lleida, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 15, 1-14

Abstract: The COVID-19 outbreak entailed radical shifts to individuals’ daily habits that challenged their subjective well-being (SWB). Knowledge about the impact of COVID-19 on SWB is paramount for developing public policies to tackle mental health during health emergency periods. Decreases in life satisfaction are likely not only due to exposure to daily negative emotions but also due to hopelessness, fear, and avoidance of social interactions. We examined in a sample of 541 Spanish adults (1) reactions to the COVID-19 outbreak and (2) the mediating role of these reactions in the associations of hope and social phobia with life satisfaction through different levels of positive and negative affect. A moderated mediation analysis showed that the conditional indirect effect of hope and social anxiety on life satisfaction through information depended on the participants’ having high positive affect and low negative affect. Affect seems to be a mechanism that modulates the influence of individuals’ perception about COVID-19 on their life satisfaction. Those with high positive affect might see the “general picture” and search for adequate information as they avoid focusing on the problem and on specific information that precludes preventive behaviors. Having a positive affect might help individuals to adopt information-processing strategies during the COVID-19 outbreak that will improve their life satisfaction.

Keywords: coronavirus; COVID-19; mental health; subjective well-being; hope; social phobia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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