RT Journal Article
T1 Lockdown strictness and mental health effects among older populations in Europe
A1 García-Prado, Ariadna
A1 González Rodríguez, Paula
A1 Rebollo-Sanz, Yolanda F.
K1 COVID-19
K1 Mental health
K1 Lockdown
K1 Confinement
K1 Containment index
K1 Mobility restrictions
K1 Senior and older Europeans
K1 Causality
AB This paper investigates whether lockdown policies aggravated mental health problems of older populations (50 and over) in Europe during the first COVID-19 wave. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE COVID-19 questionnaire) and from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker for 17 countries, we estimate the causal effect of lockdown policies on mental health by combining cross-country variability in the strictness of the policies with cross-individual variability in face-to-face contacts prior to the pandemic. We find that lockdown policies worsened insomnia, anxiety, and depression by 5, 7.2 and 5.1 percentage points, respectively. This effect was stronger for women and those aged between 50 and 65. Interestingly, lockdown policies notably damaged the mental health of healthy populations. We close with a discussion of lockdown policies targeted at individuals above 65 and/or with pre-existing conditions.
PB Elsevier
YR 2022
FD 2022
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10433/24414
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10433/24414
LA en
NO Economics & Human Biology Volume 45, April 2022, 101116
NO We acknowledge financial support from Agencia Estatal de Investigaciòn (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación), project PID2019-104452RB-I00, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional and Consejería de Transformación Económica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades, Junta de Andalucia, projects P18-RT-2135 and CV20-35470.
NO Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Departamento de Economía, Métodos Cuantitativos e Historia Económica.
DS RIO
RD May 2, 2026