Life Satisfaction for Young Adults Over the Covid Cycle: Did it Bounce Back?

David (David Patrick) Madden

No 202605, Working Papers from School of Economics, University College Dublin

Abstract: This paper examines the dynamics of life satisfaction for a sample of young Irish adults before, during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Using longitudinal data from the Child cohort of the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) survey we analyse changes in the Cantril ladder measure of life satisfaction and transitions across the critical threshold of high and low life satisfaction. We find that in general life satisfaction fell during Covid but then recovered but not back to its pre-Covid levels. We also use Group Based Trajectory Modelling to identify heterogeneity in the trajectories of life satisfaction and find three distinct groupings, one of which experienced quite a sharp drop in life satisfaction during Covid. Statistical associations for membership of this group include low educational attainment, financial hardship, introversion, emotional instability and lack of conscientiousness. For future crises similar to Covid, policy should first focus on protection of people with such pre-existing vulnerabilities.

Keywords: Life satisfaction; Group based trajectory modelling; Covid (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C38 I14 I31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 35 pages
Date: 2026-02
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