Gender, loneliness and happiness during COVID-19

descriptionPublicationkeyboard_double_arrow_right Article , Research 01 Jan 2022 Spain, France, France, Luxembourg, Spain, France English Publisher:Elsevier BVJournal:Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, volume 101, page 101,952 (issn: 2214-8043,

Copyright policy )

Authors: Lepinteur, Anthony; Clark, Andrew E.; Ferrer-I-Carbonell, Ada; Piper, Alan; Schröder, Carsten; d'Ambrosio, Conchita;

doi: 10.1016/j.socec.2022.101952 , 10.2139/ssrn.4058177

pmid: 36339351

pmc: PMC9617673

handle: 10261/296380 , 10419/267390 , 10419/268712

Gender, loneliness and happiness during COVID-19

- Summary
- Subjects
- Metrics

Abstract

We analyse a measure of loneliness from a representative sample of German individuals interviewed in both 2017 and at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Both men and women felt lonelier during the COVID-19 pandemic than they did in 2017. The pandemic more than doubled the gender loneliness gap: women were lonelier than men in 2017, and the 2017-2020 rise in loneliness was far larger for women. This rise is mirrored in life-satisfaction scores. Men's life satisfaction changed only little between 2017 and 2020; yet that of women fell dramatically, and sufficiently so to produce a female penalty in life satisfaction. We estimate that almost all of this female penalty is explained by the disproportionate rise in loneliness for women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Countries

Spain, France, France, Luxembourg, Spain, France

Related Organizations

View all View all

Keywords

150, 610, Article, Education, : Economie sociale [B15] [Sciences économiques & de gestion], loneliness, gender, I30, I10, [SHS.ECO] Humanities and Social Sciences/Economics and Finance, : Social economics [B15] [Business & economic sciences], life satisfaction, and Welfare/I.I1 - Health/I.I1.I18 - Government Policy • Regulation • Public Health, JEL: I - Health, and Welfare/I.I1 - Health/I.I1.I14 - Health and Inequality, I18, ddc:330, Well-Being, Loneliness, I14, Gender, COVID-19, SOEP, and Welfare/I.I3 - Welfare, [SHS.ECO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Economics and Finance, Life Satisfaction, and Welfare/I.I0 - General, Life satisfaction, Covid-19, and Poverty/I.I3.I30 - General

Impact byBIP!

	selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).	29
	popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.	Top 10%
	influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).	Top 10%
	impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.	Top 10%