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The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Trajectories of Well-Being of Middle-Aged and older Adults: A Multidimensional and Multidirectional Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Markus Wettstein

    (Heidelberg University
    Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

  • Hans-Werner Wahl

    (Heidelberg University
    Heidelberg University)

  • Anna Schlomann

    (Heidelberg University
    Heidelberg University of Education)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in profound changes of individuals’ everyday lives. Restrictions in social contacts and in leisure activities and the threatening situation of a spreading virus might have resulted in compromised well-being. At the same time, the pandemic could have promoted specific aspects of psychosocial well-being, e.g., due to intensified relationships with close persons during lockdown periods. We investigated this potentially multidimensional and multi-directional pattern of pandemic-specific change in well-being by analyzing changes over up to 8 years (2012-2020) in two broad well-being domains, hedonic well-being (life satisfaction) and eudaimonic well-being (one overarching eudaimonic well-being indicator as well as environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, and self-acceptance), among 423 adults who were aged 40-98 years in 2012. By modelling longitudinal multilevel regression models and allowing for a measurement-specific intra-individual deviation component from the general slope in 2020, i.e. after the pandemic outbreak, we analyzed potential normative history-graded changes due to the pandemic. All mean-level history-graded changes were nonsignificant, but most revealed substantial interindividual variability, indicating that individuals’ pandemic-related well-being changes were remarkably heterogeneous. Only for personal growth and self-acceptance, adding a pandemic-related change component (and interindividual variability thereof) did not result in a better model fit. Individuals with poorer self-rated health at baseline in 2012 revealed a pandemic-related change toward lower life satisfaction. Our findings suggest that not all well-being domains - and not all individuals - are equally prone to “COVID-19 effects”, and even pandemic-associated gains were observed for some individuals in certain well-being domains.

Suggested Citation

  • Markus Wettstein & Hans-Werner Wahl & Anna Schlomann, 2022. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Trajectories of Well-Being of Middle-Aged and older Adults: A Multidimensional and Multidirectional Perspective," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(7), pages 3577-3604, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:23:y:2022:i:7:d:10.1007_s10902-022-00552-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-022-00552-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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