Effect of lockdown on mental health in Australia: evidence from a natural experiment analysing a longitudinal probability sample survey.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Many studies have examined population mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic but have been unable to isolate the direct effect of lockdowns. The aim of this study was to examine changes in the mental health of Australians aged 15 years and older during the COVID-19 pandemic using a quasi-experimental design to disentangle the lockdown effect.

Methods

We analysed data from ten annual waves (2011-20) of the longitudinal Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey to identify changes in the mental health of respondents from the pre-COVID-19 period (2011-19) to the COVID-19 period (2020). Difference-in-differences models were used to compare these changes between respondents in the state of Victoria who were exposed to lockdown at the time of

SUBMITTER: Butterworth P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9023006 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature