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Impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on mental health: evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in England and Scotland

Author

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  • Serrano-Alarcon, Manuel
  • Kentikelenis, Alexander
  • McKee, Martin
  • Stuckler, David

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has been associated with worsening mental health but it is unclear whether this is a direct consequence of containment measures, like ‘Stay at Home’ orders, or due to other considerations such as fear and uncertainty about becoming infected. It is also unclear how responsive mental health is to a changing situation. Exploiting the different policy responses to COVID-19 in England and Scotland and using a difference-in-difference analysis, we show that easing lockdown measures significantly improves mental health in a short time span. Additionally, we show that those with lower socioeconomic status benefit more from relaxing the restrictions, whereas they suffered a larger deterioration in mental health where the lockdown was extended. As lockdown measures may continue to be necessary in the future, further efforts (both financial and mental health support) are required to minimize the consequences of COVID-19 containment policies for mental health.

Suggested Citation

  • Serrano-Alarcon, Manuel & Kentikelenis, Alexander & McKee, Martin & Stuckler, David, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on mental health: evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in England and Scotland," SocArXiv rjvc2, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:rjvc2
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/rjvc2
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    Cited by:

    1. Colella, Sara & Dufourt, Frédéric & Hildebrand, Vincent A. & Vivès, Rémi, 2023. "Mental health effects of COVID-19 lockdowns: A Twitter-based analysis," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    2. García-Prado, Ariadna & González, Paula & Rebollo-Sanz, Yolanda F., 2022. "Lockdown strictness and mental health effects among older populations in Europe," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    3. Lindley, Joanne & Rienzo, Cinzia, 2021. "The Effect of Repeated Lockdowns during the Covid-19 Pandemic on UK Mental Health Outcomes," GLO Discussion Paper Series 977, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Chan, Ho Fai & Cheng, Zhiming & Mendolia, Silvia & Paloyo, Alfredo R. & Tani, Massimiliano & Proulx, Damon & Savage, David & Torgler, Benno, 2022. "Societal Movement Restrictions and Adverse Mental Health Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 15111, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Nolan, Anne & Smyth, Emer, 2022. "Disrupted transitions: young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS142.

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