Abstract
Australia adopted hard lockdown measures to eliminate community transmission of COVID-19. Lockdown imposes periods of social isolation that contributes to increased levels of stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, and worry. We examined whether lockdowns have similar psychosocial associations across rural and urban areas and whether associations existed between happiness and worry of loneliness in the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Data were collected using the “COVID-19 Living Survey” between 13 and 20 May 2020 by BehaviourWorks Australia at the Monash Sustainable Development Institute. The mean self-reported feeling of happiness and anxiousness (N = 1593), on a 10-point Likert scale with 0 being least happy or highly anxious, was 6.5 (SD = 2.4) and 3.9 (2.9), respectively. Factors associated with happiness were older age and having a postgraduate education. Participants worried about becoming lonely also exhibited reduced happiness (estimate = −1.58, 95%CI = −1.84–−1.32) and higher anxiousness (2.22, 1.93–2.51) scores, and these conditions remained associated after adjusting for demographics. Interestingly, worry about loneliness was greater in rural areas than in urban communities. The negative impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on rural youth and those less-educated was evident. Participants in rural Australia who were worried about becoming lonely were reportedly less happy than participants in major cities. This dataset provides a better understanding of factors that influence psychological well-being and quality of life in the Australian population and helps to determine whether happiness may be an associative factor that could mitigate self-feelings of anxiety and worry about loneliness.
Highlights
IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant social, economic, and psychological impact on the daily lives of people across the world
Literacy, and geographic location influenced the feeling of happiness or anxiety
We assessed whether worrying about becoming lonely, as a factor of loneliness, was associated with self-cognitions of happiness or anxiety. This dataset provided a better understanding of factors that influence psychological well-being and quality of life in the Australian population and determined whether happiness may be an associative factor that could mitigate self-feelings of isolation and anxiety
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant social, economic, and psychological impact on the daily lives of people across the world. In March 2020, the Australian government introduced quarantine and contact-tracing measures to eliminate community transmission; with the growth of cases beyond contract tracing, a nation-wide lockdown ensued. In late June 2021, a second wave of coronavirus, the Delta strain, became predominant in urban, regional, and rural areas of New South Wales, requiring a “hard”. It is interesting to explore the historical impact of lockdowns across regions of Australia to better understand the health and wellbeing associations in future lockdowns
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