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The gender gap in mental well-being during the Covid-19 outbreak: evidence from the UK

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  • Etheridge, Ben
  • Spantig, Lisa
Abstract
We document a decline in mental well-being after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK. This decline is twice as large for women as for men. We seek to explain this gender gap by exploring gender differences in: family and caring responsibilities; financial and work situation; social engagement; health situation, and health behaviours, including exercise. Differences in family and caring responsibilities play some role, but the bulk of the gap is explained by social factors. Women reported more close friends before the pandemic than men, and increased loneliness after the pandemic's onset. Other factors are similarly distributed across genders and so play little role. Finally, we document larger declines in well-being for the young, of both genders, than the old.

Suggested Citation

  • Etheridge, Ben & Spantig, Lisa, 2020. "The gender gap in mental well-being during the Covid-19 outbreak: evidence from the UK," ISER Working Paper Series 2020-08, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:ese:iserwp:2020-08
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    File URL: https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/files/working-papers/iser/2020-08.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hamish Low & Michaela Benzeval & Jon Burton & Thomas F. Crossley & Paul Fisher & Annette Jäckle & Brendan Read, 2020. "The Idiosyncratic Impact of an Aggregate Shock The Distributional Consequences of COVID-19," Economics Series Working Papers 911, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
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    4. Rada K Dagher & Jie Chen & Stephen B Thomas, 2015. "Gender Differences in Mental Health Outcomes before, during, and after the Great Recession," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(5), pages 1-16, May.
    5. Apostolos Davillas & Michaela Benzeval & Meena Kumari, 2016. "Association of Adiposity and Mental Health Functioning across the Lifespan: Findings from Understanding Society (The UK Household Longitudinal Study)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(2), pages 1-19, February.
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