Observational studyPsychological medicine2023
Generational, sex, and socioeconomic inequalities in mental and social wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic: prospective longitudinal observational study of five UK cohorts.
Observational study in Psychological medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Satisfaction-Related Well-Being Among Working Young Adults and Their Parents: Core Self-Evaluations and Life Values in a Preregistered Cross-Sectional Study.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Trends in psychological distress among adolescents in Ireland: survey data from 2018 to 2023 & lived experience perspective.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Article
- Mental health in adults aged 50+ since the COVID-19 pandemic: Are we (all) back to 'normal'? evidence from England.Journal of affective disorders reports · 2026Article
- Social Well-being predictors and affecting factors among Iranian adolescent school girls: a cluster Cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- A quantitative approach to the intersectional study of mental health inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic in UK young adults.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2024Article
- Temporal dynamics of socioeconomic inequalities in depressive and anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Physical and mental health of 40,000 older women in England during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021).PloS one · 2024Article
- Beware the "loneliness gap"? Examining emerging inequalities and long-term risks of loneliness and isolation emerging from COVID-19.The Australian journal of social issues · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundResearch suggests that there have been inequalities in the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and related non-pharmaceutical interventions on population mental health. We explored generational, sex, and socioeconomic inequalities during the first year of the pandemic using nationally representative cohorts from the UK.
methodsWe analysed data from 26772 participants from five longitudinal cohorts representing generations born between 1946 and 2000, collected in May 2020, September-October 2020, and February-March 2021 across all five cohorts. We used a multilevel growth curve modelling approach to investigate generational, sex, and socioeconomic differences in levels of anxiety and depressive symptomatology, loneliness, and life satisfaction (LS) over time.
resultsYounger generations had worse levels of mental and social wellbeing throughout the first year of the pandemic. Whereas these generational inequalities narrowed between the first and last observation periods for LS [-0.33 (95% CI -0.51 to -0.15)], they became larger for anxiety [0.22 (0.10, 0.33)]. Generational inequalities in depression and loneliness did not change between the first and last observation periods, but initial depression levels of the youngest cohort were worse than expected if the generational inequalities had not accelerated. Women and those experiencing financial difficulties had worse initial mental and social wellbeing levels than men and those financially living comfortably, respectively, and these gaps did not substantially differ between the first and last observation periods.
conclusionsBy March 2021, mental and social wellbeing inequalities persisted in the UK adult population. Pre-existing generational inequalities may have been exacerbated with the pandemic onset. Policies aimed at protecting vulnerable groups are needed.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.