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The gender gap in mental well-being at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic: Evidence from the UK

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  • Etheridge, Ben
  • Spantig, Lisa

Abstract

We assess the decline in mental health after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK. This decline was more than twice as large for women as for men. We seek to explain this gender gap by exploring gender differences in: family and caring responsibilities; financial and work situation; social engagement; health situation, and health behaviours, including exercise. We assess their quantitative relevance by applying standard decomposition methods. We find that compositional differences in family and caring responsibilities explain part of the gender gap, but more important are gender differences in social factors, particularly changes in loneliness. We explore this result further by analysing gender differences in personality traits. Even after controlling for all factors there remains a noticeable age–gender gradient, with young females suffering particularly badly.

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  • 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).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:145:y:2022:i:c:s0014292122000502
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2022.104114
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    2. M. Pilar Matud & Mª José Pino & Juan Manuel Bethencourt & D. Estefanía Lorenzo, 2023. "Stressful Events, Psychological Distress and Well-Being during the Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain: A Gender Analysis," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(3), pages 1291-1319, June.
    3. Timothée Demont & Daniela Horta Sáenz & Eva Raiber, 2023. "Turning worries into cognitive performance: Results from an online experiment during Covid," AMSE Working Papers 2302, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.
    4. Lepinteur, Anthony & Clark, Andrew E. & Ferrer-i-Carbonell, Ada & Piper, Alan & Schröder, Carsten & D'Ambrosio, Conchita, 2022. "Gender, loneliness and happiness during COVID-19," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    5. Ali Zarifhonarvar, 2023. "A Survey on the Impact of Covid-19 on the Labor Market," The Journal of Social Sciences Research, Academic Research Publishing Group, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, 03-2023.
    6. Eva Raiber & Daniela Horta Saenz & Timothée Demont, 2023. "Turning worries into performance: Results from an online experiment during COVID," French Stata Users' Group Meetings 2023 08, Stata Users Group.
    7. Foliano, Francesca & Tonei, Valentina & Sevilla, Almudena, 2022. "Social Restrictions and Well-Being: Disentangling the Mechanisms," IZA Discussion Papers 15734, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Sunoong Hwang & Heeju Shin, 2023. "Gender Gap in Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Korea: A Decomposition Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-14, January.
    9. Foliano, Francesca & Tonei, Valentina & Sevilla, Almudena, 2024. "Social restrictions, leisure and well-being," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121996, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Alicja Kozakiewicz & Zbigniew Izdebski & Maciej Białorudzki & Joanna Mazur, 2023. "Pandemic-Related Stress and Other Emotional Difficulties in a Sample of Men and Women Living in Romantic Relationships during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-20, February.
    11. Simon Foster & Natalia Estévez-Lamorte & Susanne Walitza & Meichun Mohler-Kuo, 2023. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young Adults’ Mental Health in Switzerland: A Longitudinal Cohort Study from 2018 to 2021," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-13, January.
    12. Zarifhonarvar, Ali, 2022. "A Survey on the Impact of Covid-19 on the Labor Market," EconStor Preprints 265549, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mental well-being; Mental health; Gender; Covid-19;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General

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