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The psychological consequences of COVID-19 lockdowns

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  • Kien Le
  • My Nguyen

Abstract

COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in the largest number of lockdowns worldwide in history. While lockdowns may reduce the spread of COVID-19, the downside costs of this approach could be dreadful. By exploiting the differential timing of lockdown implementation across the United States within a difference-in-differences framework, we find that the pandemic lockdowns are associated with a variety of adverse psychological outcomes, namely, anxiety, worry, disinterest, depression, and poor general health perception. Our mechanism analyses suggest that these detrimental impacts could be attributed to concerns towards food, housing, and employment security. We further show that African Americans and women are especially susceptible to the adverse repercussions of the lockdowns. The findings imply that lockdowns should be accompanied by policies aimed to prevent mental health burden and deepening inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2021. "The psychological consequences of COVID-19 lockdowns," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(2), pages 147-163, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:irapec:v:35:y:2021:i:2:p:147-163
    DOI: 10.1080/02692171.2020.1853077
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    Cited by:

    1. Bianca Rochelle Parry & Errolyn Gordon, 2021. "The shadow pandemic: Inequitable gendered impacts of COVID‐19 in South Africa," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 795-806, March.
    2. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Hans Philipp Hofmann, 2021. "An Old Plug and a New Virus: Effect of Public Corruption on the Covid-19 Immunization Progress," CESifo Working Paper Series 9307, CESifo.
    3. Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2022. "The impacts of rainfall shocks on birth weight in Vietnam," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 143-159, April.
    4. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2021. "Education and political engagement," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    5. Becky Leshem & Gabriela Kashy-Rosenbaum & Miriam Schiff & Rami Benbenishty & Ruth Pat-Horenczyk, 2023. "Continuous Exposure to Terrorism during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Moderated Mediation Model in the Israeli Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-13, February.
    6. Lili Li & Araz Taeihagh & Si Ying Tan, 2023. "A scoping review of the impacts of COVID-19 physical distancing measures on vulnerable population groups," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-19, December.
    7. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2021. "In-utero Exposure to Rainfall Variability and Early Childhood Health," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    8. Nguyen, My, 2020. "Mask Mandates and COVID-19 Related Symptoms in the US," MPRA Paper 109992, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Kien, Le, 2020. "Internet Access for Children’s Online Schooling during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Parental Mental Health," MPRA Paper 110579, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Hakan Yilmazkuday, 2021. "Unequal welfare costs of staying at home across socioeconomic and demographic groups," International Journal of Urban Sciences, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(3), pages 347-365, July.
    11. Maria Nikopoulou & Panos Kourouthanassis & Giota Chasapi & Adamantia Pateli & Naoum Mylonas, 2023. "Determinants of Digital Transformation in the Hospitality Industry: Technological, Organizational, and Environmental Drivers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-20, February.
    12. J. Ryan Lamare & Richard A. Benton & Patricia Michel Tabarani, 2024. "An Empirical Analysis of Race and Political Partisanship Effects on Workplace Mobility Patterns During Lockdown, Reopening, and Endemic COVID-19," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 77(4), pages 475-505, August.
    13. Filippin, Antonio & Pace, Noemi, 2025. "The effect of social distancing on trust and solidarity," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    14. Tomás Caycho-Rodríguez & Julio Torales & José Ventura-León & Iván Barrios & Marcela Waisman-Campos & Alexandra Terrazas-Landivar & Laura Viola & Lindsey W. Vilca & Agueda Muñoz-del-Carpio-Toia, 2024. "Network analysis of pandemic fatigue symptoms in samples from five South American countries," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 70(3), pages 601-614, May.
    15. Lamare, J. Ryan & Benton, Richard A. & Tabarani, Patricia Michel, 2024. "An empirical analysis of race and political partisanship effects on workplace mobility patterns during lockdown, reopening, and endemic COVID-19," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 125302, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    16. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2020. "The Impacts of Armed Conflict on Child Health: Evidence from 56 Developing Countries," MPRA Paper 109896, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Gu, Ran & Zhong, Ling, 2023. "Effects of stay-at-home orders on skill requirements in vacancy postings," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    18. Trinh Q. Long, 2021. "Individual Subjective Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-18, July.

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    JEL classification:

    • I0 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General

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