Robinson Crusoe: less or more depressed? With whom and where to live in a pandemic if you are above 50

Inés Berniell, Anne Laferrere, Pedro Mira and Elizaveta Pronkina ()
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Pedro Mira: CEMFI
Elizaveta Pronkina: Université Paris-Dauphine - PSL

Review of Economics of the Household, 2023, vol. 21, issue 2, No 3, 435-459

Abstract: Abstract Did the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic and the various lockdown measures taken by European governments in the spring of 2020 impact individuals aged 50 and over differently according to their living arrangements and housing conditions? Focusing on three indicators of mental well-being, depression, loneliness and trouble sleeping, this paper answers the question using data on Europeans interviewed in the SHARE Corona Survey, fielded right after the first wave of the pandemic in summer 2020, linked longitudinally with two previous waves of SHARE (2013 and 2015). We find that the first wave of the pandemic changed the association between mental health and living arrangements and housing conditions. New to this pandemic period, the mental well-being of those who lived only with a spouse declined relative to the general population aged 50+. Relatedly, there was a protective impact for parents of having (adult) children in the same building as opposed to children, however close, who were not co-residing. Finally, living in cities and in multi-unit housing also led to a decrease in mental well-being relative to the general population aged 50+.

Keywords: Lockdown; Living arrangement; Housing; Mental well-being; SHARE; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 J12 J14 R19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11150-022-09624-8

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