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Lost in lockdown? COVID-19, social distancing, and mental health in Germany

Author

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  • Armbruster, Stephanie
  • Klotzbücher, Valentin

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and social-distancing and stay-at-home orders can directly affect mental health and quality of life. In this ongoing project, we analyze rich data from Telefonseelsorge, the largest German helpline service, to better understand the effect of the pandemic and of local lockdown measures on mental health-related helpline contacts. First, looking at Germany-wide changes, we find that overall helpline contacts increase by around 20% in the first week of the lockdown and slowly decrease again after the third lockdown week. Our results suggest that the increase is not driven by financial worries or fear of the virus itself, but reflects heightened loneliness, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Second, we exploit spatial variation in policies among German federal states to assess whether the effect depends on the stringency of local measures. Preliminary evidence suggests that the average effect is more pronounced in states that implemented stricter measures.

Suggested Citation

  • Armbruster, Stephanie & Klotzbücher, Valentin, 2020. "Lost in lockdown? COVID-19, social distancing, and mental health in Germany," Discussion Paper Series 2020-04, University of Freiburg, Wilfried Guth Endowed Chair for Constitutional Political Economy and Competition Policy.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:wgspdp:202004
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    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/218885/1/1698957106.pdf
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Khadija Shams & Alexander Kadow, 2023. "COVID-19 and Subjective Well-Being in Urban Pakistan in the Beginning of the Pandemic: A Socio-Economic Analysis," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(1), pages 93-113, February.
    2. David J. Hebert & Michael D. Curry, 2022. "Optimal lockdowns," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 193(3), pages 263-274, December.
    3. Silverio-Murillo, Adan & Hoehn-Velasco, Lauren & Balmori de la Miyar, Jose Roberto & Rodríguez, Abel, 2021. "COVID-19 and women’s health: Examining changes in mental health and fertility," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    4. Silverio-Murillo, Adan & Hoehn-Velasco, Lauren & Rodriguez Tirado, Abel & Balmori de la Miyar, Jose Roberto, 2021. "COVID-19 blues: Lockdowns and mental health-related google searches in Latin America," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    5. Bahal, Girish & Iyer, Sriya & Shastry, Kishen & Shrivastava, Anand, 2023. "Religion, Covid-19 and mental health," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    6. Mathias Huebener & Sevrin Waights & C. Katharina Spiess & Nico A. Siegel & Gert G. Wagner, 2021. "Parental well-being in times of Covid-19 in Germany," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 91-122, March.
    7. Abi Adams-Prassl & Teodora Boneva & Marta Golin & Christopher Rauh, 2022. "The impact of the coronavirus lockdown on mental health: evidence from the United States," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 37(109), pages 139-155.
    8. Bau, Natalie & Khanna, Gaurav & Low, Corinne & Shah, Manisha & Sharmin, Sreyashi & Voena, Alessandra, 2022. "Women’s well-being during a pandemic and its containment," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    9. Michael Vlassopoulos & Abu Siddique & Tabassum Rahman & Debayan Pakrashi & Asad Islam & Firoz Ahmed, 2024. "Improving Women's Mental Health during a Pandemic," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(2), pages 422-455, April.
    10. Sung, Nakil & Kim, Minchang, 2023. "COVID-19 and changes in content usage behavior: The case of South Korea," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1).
    11. YAMAMURA, Eiji & Tsutsui, Yoshiro, 2020. "Impact of closing schools on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence using panel data from Japan," MPRA Paper 105023, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Beland, Louis-Philippe & Brodeur, Abel & Haddad, Joanne & Mikola, Derek, 2020. "Covid-19, Family Stress and Domestic Violence: Remote Work, Isolation and Bargaining Power," GLO Discussion Paper Series 571, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    13. Etheridge, Ben & Spantig, Lisa, 2022. "The gender gap in mental well-being at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic: Evidence from the UK," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    14. Hoehn-Velasco, Lauren & Silverio-Murillo, Adan & de la Miyar, Jose Roberto Balmori, 2021. "The great crime recovery: Crimes against women during, and after, the COVID-19 lockdown in Mexico," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    15. Tetsuya Tamaki & Wataru Nozawa & Akinori Kitsuki, 2024. "How did you perceive the lifestyle changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    16. Louis-Philippe Béladn & Abel Brodeur & Joanne Haddad & Derek Mikola, 2021. "Determinants of Family Stress and Domestic Violence: Lessons from the COVID-19 Outbreak," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 47(3), pages 439-459, September.
    17. Benedikt Janzen, 2022. "Temperature and Mental Health: Evidence from Helpline Calls," Papers 2207.04992, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2022.
    18. Mizuki Komura & Hikaru Ogawa, 2022. "COVID-19, marriage, and divorce in Japan," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 831-853, September.
    19. Onur Altindag & Bilge Erten & Pinar Keskin, 2022. "Mental Health Costs of Lockdowns: Evidence from Age-Specific Curfews in Turkey," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 14(2), pages 320-343, April.
    20. Louis-Philippe Beland & Abel Brodeur & Derek Mikola & Taylor Wright, 2020. "COVID-19, Occupation Tasks and Mental Health in Canada," Carleton Economic Papers 20-07, Carleton University, Department of Economics, revised 30 Jun 2020.
    21. Eiji Yamamura & Yoshiro Tsustsui, 2021. "School closures and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(4), pages 1261-1298, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Stay-at-Home Orders; Mental Health;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty

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