The COVID-19 Pandemic, Well-Being, and Transitions to Post-secondary Education

Malte Sandner, Alexander Patzina, Silke Anger, Sarah Bernhard () and Hans Dietrich ()
Additional contact information
Alexander Patzina: Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg
Sarah Bernhard: Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg
Hans Dietrich: Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg

No 14797, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This study examines the immediate and intermediate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of two high school graduation cohorts (2020 and 2021). We also investigate how changes in well-being at the transition to post-secondary education affect educational plans and outcomes. Our unique panel data contain prospective survey information on three dimensions of well- being: mental health problems, self-rated health, and life satisfaction for 3,697 students. Data is collected several months before (fall 2019), shortly before and soon after (spring 2020), and several months after (fall/winter 2020/21) the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Applying difference-in-differences designs, random effect growth curve models, and linear regression models, we find that school closures had a positive immediate effect on students' wellbeing. Over the course of the pandemic, however, well-being strongly declined, mainly concentrated among the 2021 graduation cohort. Finally, we show that a strong decline in mental health is associated with changes in educational and career plans and transition outcomes. As adverse life experiences in adolescence are likely to accumulate over the life course, this study is the first to exhibit potential long-lasting negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on education and careers of young individuals.

Keywords: mental and physical well-being; high school graduates; COVID-19; life satisfaction; school-to-work transition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 I21 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 pages
Date: 2021-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-hap, nep-hea and nep-lma
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - published in: Review of Economics of the Household , 2023, 21, 461 - 483

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Related works:
Journal Article: The COVID-19 pandemic, well-being, and transitions to post-secondary education (2023)
Working Paper: The COVID-19 pandemic, well-being, and transitions to post-secondary education (2021)
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