No man is an island: Men living alone during COVID‐19 report lower need satisfaction and well‐being

Abstract

AbstractBased on data from a large‐scale social survey in the United Kingdom, the present work examines the influence of household situation and gender on individuals' psychological needs and subjective well‐being during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Asked to compare their current state to that before the pandemic, men but not women living alone report a subjective decline in their basic psychological needs for meaningfulness and self‐esteem, as well as lower subjective well‐being. A mediated moderation analysis indicates that the lower subjective well‐being for men living alone is mainly mediated by the decline in the satisfaction of their need for self‐esteem. The present findings suggest that social isolation during the pandemic may have affected men and women's psychological needs differently and highlight the special role of need for self‐esteem, offering insights for potential well‐being interventions in times of crisis.