Robinson Crusoe: less or more depressed? With whom and where to live in a pandemic if you are above 50

Abstract

Did the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic and the various lockdown measures taken by European governments in the spring of 2020 impact individuals aged 50 and over differently according to their living arrangements and housing conditions? Focusing on three indicators of mental well-being, depression, loneliness and trouble sleeping, this paper answers the question using data on Europeans interviewed in the SHARE Corona Survey, fielded right after the first wave of the pandemic in summer 2020, linked longitudinally with two previous waves of SHARE (2013 and 2015). We find that the first wave of the pandemic changed the association between mental health and living arrangements and housing conditions. New to this pandemic period, the mental well-being of those who lived only with a spouse declined relative to the general population aged 50+. Relatedly, there was a protective impact for parents of having (adult) children in the same building as opposed to children, however close, who were not co-residing. Finally, living in cities and in multi-unit housing also led to a decrease in mental well-being relative to the general population aged 50+.

Prayer frequency and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among older adults in Europe

“…A recent study among Europeans aged 50+ showed that vaccine hesitant individuals are mainly adults aged 50-65 years, with lower education, and residing in Central and Eastern European countries (especially Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, and Romania) or in the Baltic countries (especially Latvia and Lithuania) [5] . The low vaccine uptake in these countries may be explained by a higher distrust of people in medical professionals and health authorities [6] . Moreover, a recent literature review demonstrates that religious beliefs may be a determinant in the vaccine hesitancy in Eastern Europe [7] .…”

You'll never walk alone: Loneliness, religion, and politico‐economic transformation

“…Tubadji and others (2020) reported that Google searches for suicide decreased during the pandemic. And while Groarke and others (2021) report sleep effects that may relate to unhappiness, the work of Berniell and others (2021) found that usually isolated (i.e., relatively deprived in socializing) elderly individuals actually felt better off in terms of their life satisfaction during the COVID‐19 lockdowns, potentially because the lockdown imposed on all essentially reduced their feelings of relative social deprivation.…”