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

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  • Manuel Serrano‐Alarcón
  • Alexander Kentikelenis
  • Martin Mckee
  • David Stuckler

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 rapidly improves mental health. The results were driven by individuals with lower socioeconomic position, in terms of education or financial situation, who benefited more from the end of the strict lockdown, whereas they suffered a larger decline in mental health where the lockdown was extended. Overall, mental health appears to be more sensitive to the imposition of containment policies than to the evolution of the pandemic itself. 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

  • Manuel Serrano‐Alarcón & Alexander Kentikelenis & Martin Mckee & David Stuckler, 2022. "Impact of COVID‐19 lockdowns on mental health: Evidence from a quasi‐natural experiment in England and Scotland," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2), pages 284-296, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:31:y:2022:i:2:p:284-296
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.4453
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    1. Quintana-Domeque, Climent & Zeng, Jingya, 2023. "COVID-19 and Mental Health: Natural Experiments of the Costs of Lockdowns," IZA Discussion Papers 16532, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Bilgrami, A., 2023. "Working from home and mental health: before and during the COVID-19 pandemic," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 23/03, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    3. Anderes, Marc & Pichler, Stefan, 2023. "Mental health effects of social distancing in Switzerland," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    4. Rienzo, Cinzia, 2024. "Trick or treat? The Brexit effect on immigrants’ mental health in the United Kingdom," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    5. Ying Cui & Yue Han, 2022. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of Urban Residents—Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-17, December.
    6. Costi, Chiara & Hollingsworth, Bruce & O'Sullivan, Vincent & Zucchelli, Eugenio, 2023. "Does caring for others affect our mental health? Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 321(C).

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