IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v176y2025i3d10.1007_s11205-024-03496-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social Class and Well-being Trajectories during COVID-19: A 4-year Longitudinal Study Revealed a Steeper Decline among Higher-class Individuals in South Korea

Author

Listed:
  • Yuri Kwon

    (Seoul National University
    Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology)

  • Sooyoun Kristina Zong

    (University of Chicago)

  • Namhee Kim

    (Seoul National University)

  • Yuhyun Choi

    (Seoul National University)

  • Incheol Choi

    (Seoul National University
    Seoul National University)

Abstract

Little research has examined the role of social class in the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental well-being. This 4-year longitudinal study in South Korea (N = 86,872; 875,967 responses) assessed well-being before (January 2019 to January 2020) and during (January 2020 to January 2023) the COVID-19 pandemic to determine whether change in well-being during this period differed by social class. We expanded the investigation to consider transitions in social class, social distancing measures, and the mechanisms underlying well-being changes according to social class during the pandemic. In particular, we assessed the moderating effects of social class on within-person changes in well-being using conducting multilevel modeling-based analyses in four approaches. First, we found that, while higher-class individuals maintained an average well-being that was higher than that of lower-class individuals, they also experienced a steeper decline in well-being over the course of the pandemic. Relative to their pre-COVID-19 levels, they experienced a significant decrease in well-being in the first, second, and third years of COVID-19, showing no sign of recovery until the pandemic neared its end. Second, this pattern persisted without regard for critical social class transitions following the pandemic: individuals remaining in the higher class during both the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods experienced significant declines in well-being relative to baseline. Third, higher-class individuals faced larger difficulties in maintaining their well-being, particularly with respect to social distancing measures, while the well-being of lower-class individuals was less affected. Fourth, perceived changes in daily life mediated observed class difference in well-being declines, showing that higher-class individuals experienced greater changes in their daily lives due to COVID-19 than lower-class individuals did, resulting in greater declines in well-being. Taken together, these findings indicate that COVID-19 transformed components of life that are essential for the psychological health of the well-off, providing novel insights into the significant power of social class in the experiences of changes in well-being, going beyond the absolute gap that has been well-established by cross-sectional studies. This indicates the need for class-targeted interventions and policies to support well-being across all socioeconomic strata in future crises.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuri Kwon & Sooyoun Kristina Zong & Namhee Kim & Yuhyun Choi & Incheol Choi, 2025. "Social Class and Well-being Trajectories during COVID-19: A 4-year Longitudinal Study Revealed a Steeper Decline among Higher-class Individuals in South Korea," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 176(3), pages 1021-1042, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:176:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s11205-024-03496-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-024-03496-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11205-024-03496-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-024-03496-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jay J. Van Bavel & Katherine Baicker & Paulo S. Boggio & Valerio Capraro & Aleksandra Cichocka & Mina Cikara & Molly J. Crockett & Alia J. Crum & Karen M. Douglas & James N. Druckman & John Drury & Oe, 2020. "Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 4(5), pages 460-471, May.
    2. Arthi, Vellore & Parman, John, 2021. "Disease, downturns, and wellbeing: Economic history and the long-run impacts of COVID-19," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    3. Jan Delhey & Stephanie Hess & Klaus Boehnke & Franziska Deutsch & Jan Eichhorn & Ulrich Kühnen & Christian Welzel, 2023. "Life Satisfaction During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Human, Economic, Social, and Psychological Capital," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(7), pages 2201-2222, October.
    4. Bates, Douglas & Mächler, Martin & Bolker, Ben & Walker, Steve, 2015. "Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using lme4," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 67(i01).
    5. Bu, Feifei & Steptoe, Andrew & Fancourt, Daisy, 2020. "Loneliness during a strict lockdown: Trajectories and predictors during the COVID-19 pandemic in 38,217 United Kingdom adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    6. Richards, Lindsay & Paskov, Marii, 2016. "Social class, employment status and inequality in psychological well-being in the UK: Cross-sectional and fixed effects analyses over two decades," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 45-53.
    7. Jeffrey D Sachs & Salim S Abdool Karim & Lara Aknin & Joseph Allen & Kirsten Brosbol & Francesca Colombo & Gabriela Cuevas Barron & Maria Fernanda Espinosa & Vitor Gaspar & Alejandro Gaviria & Andy Ha, 2022. "The Lancet Commission on lessons for the future from the COVID-19 pandemic," DEOS Working Papers 2226, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    8. Robert Biswas-Diener & Ed Diener, 2001. "Making the Best of a Bad Situation: Satisfaction in the Slums of Calcutta," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 329-352, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. JANSSENS, Jochen & DE CORTE, Annelies & SÖRENSEN, Kenneth, 2016. "Water distribution network design optimisation with respect to reliability," Working Papers 2016007, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Business and Economics.
    2. Teruaki Kido & Yuko Yotsumoto & Masamichi J. Hayashi, 2025. "Hierarchical representations of relative numerical magnitudes in the human frontoparietal cortex," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Raymond Hernandez & Elizabeth A. Pyatak & Cheryl L. P. Vigen & Haomiao Jin & Stefan Schneider & Donna Spruijt-Metz & Shawn C. Roll, 2021. "Understanding Worker Well-Being Relative to High-Workload and Recovery Activities across a Whole Day: Pilot Testing an Ecological Momentary Assessment Technique," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-17, October.
    4. Elisabeth Beckmann & Lukas Olbrich & Joseph Sakshaug, 2024. "Multivariate assessment of interviewer-related errors in a cross-national economic survey (Lukas Olbrich, Elisabeth Beckmann, Joseph W. Sakshaug)," Working Papers 253, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank).
    5. Valentina Krenz & Arjen Alink & Tobias Sommer & Benno Roozendaal & Lars Schwabe, 2023. "Time-dependent memory transformation in hippocampus and neocortex is semantic in nature," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-17, December.
    6. Morán-Ordóñez, Alejandra & Ameztegui, Aitor & De Cáceres, Miquel & de-Miguel, Sergio & Lefèvre, François & Brotons, Lluís & Coll, Lluís, 2020. "Future trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services in Mediterranean forests under global change scenarios," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    7. Sonika Redhu & Pragati Jain, 2024. "Unveiling the nexus between water scarcity and socioeconomic development in the water-scarce countries," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(8), pages 19557-19577, August.
    8. Damian M. Herz & Manuel Bange & Gabriel Gonzalez-Escamilla & Miriam Auer & Keyoumars Ashkan & Petra Fischer & Huiling Tan & Rafal Bogacz & Muthuraman Muthuraman & Sergiu Groppa & Peter Brown, 2022. "Dynamic control of decision and movement speed in the human basal ganglia," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    9. Dongyan Liu & Chongran Zhou & John K. Keesing & Oscar Serrano & Axel Werner & Yin Fang & Yingjun Chen & Pere Masque & Janine Kinloch & Aleksey Sadekov & Yan Du, 2022. "Wildfires enhance phytoplankton production in tropical oceans," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    10. Zhaogeng Yang & Yanhui Li & Peijin Hu & Jun Ma & Yi Song, 2020. "Prevalence of Anemia and its Associated Factors among Chinese 9-, 12-, and 14-Year-Old Children: Results from 2014 Chinese National Survey on Students Constitution and Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-10, February.
    11. Marco Lopez-Cruz & Fernando M. Aguate & Jacob D. Washburn & Natalia Leon & Shawn M. Kaeppler & Dayane Cristina Lima & Ruijuan Tan & Addie Thompson & Laurence Willard Bretonne & Gustavo los Campos, 2023. "Leveraging data from the Genomes-to-Fields Initiative to investigate genotype-by-environment interactions in maize in North America," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    12. Baumann, Elias & Kern, Jana & Lessmann, Stefan, 2019. "Usage Continuance in Software-as-a-Service," IRTG 1792 Discussion Papers 2019-005, Humboldt University of Berlin, International Research Training Group 1792 "High Dimensional Nonstationary Time Series".
    13. repec:cup:judgdm:v:16:y:2021:i:1:p:201-237 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. C. Gabriel Hidalgo Pizango & Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado & Jhon del Águila-Pasquel & Gerardo Flores Llampazo & Johan de Jong & César J. Córdova Oroche & José M. Reyna Huaymacari & Steve J. Carver & D, 2022. "Sustainable palm fruit harvesting as a pathway to conserve Amazon peatland forests," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 5(6), pages 479-487, June.
    15. Evans O. Mudibo & Jasper Bogaert & Caroline Tigoi & Moses M. Ngari & Benson O. Singa & Christina L. Lancioni & Abdoulaye Hama Diallo & Emmie Mbale & Ezekiel Mupere & John Mukisa & Johnstone Thitiri & , 2024. "Systemic biological mechanisms underpin poor post-discharge growth among severely wasted children with HIV," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, December.
    16. Yiting Guo & Jason Shachat & Matthew J. Walker & Lijia Wei, 2021. "Viral social media videos can raise pro-social behaviours when an epidemic arises," Journal of the Economic Science Association, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 7(2), pages 120-138, December.
    17. Lin-Lin Wang & Zachary Y. Huang & Wen-Fei Dai & Yong-Ping Yang & Yuan-Wen Duan, 2024. "Mixed effects of honey bees on pollination function in the Tibetan alpine grasslands," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    18. Tobias Schlager & Ashley V. Whillans, 2022. "People underestimate the probability of contracting the coronavirus from friends," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, December.
    19. Szefer Elena & Lu Donghuan & Nathoo Farouk & Beg Mirza Faisal & Graham Jinko, 2017. "Multivariate association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms in Alzgene linkage regions and structural changes in the brain: discovery, refinement and validation," Statistical Applications in Genetics and Molecular Biology, De Gruyter, vol. 16(5-6), pages 367-386, December.
    20. Julien Collet & Samantha C Patrick & Henri Weimerskirch, 2017. "A comparative analysis of the behavioral response to fishing boats in two albatross species," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 28(5), pages 1337-1347.
    21. Laliotis, Ioannis & Minos, Dimitrios, 2022. "Religion, social interactions, and COVID-19 incidence in Western Germany," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:176:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s11205-024-03496-4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.