Up and about: Older adults’ wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic in a Swedish longitudinal study

Abstract

Objectives

To investigate early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic related to 1) levels of worry, risk perception, and social distancing; 2) longitudinal effects on wellbeing; and 3) effects of worry, risk perception, and social distancing on wellbeing.

Methods

We analyzed annual changes in four aspects of wellbeing over five years (2015–2020): life satisfaction, financial satisfaction, self-rated health, and loneliness in a subsample (n=1071, aged 60–71) from a larger survey of Swedish older adults. The 2020 wave, collected March 26–April 2, included measures of worry, risk perception, and social distancing in response to COVID-19.

Results

1) In relation to COVID-19: 44.9% worried about health, 69.5% about societal consequences, 25.1% about financial consequences; 86.4% perceived a high societal risk, 42.3% a high risk of infection, and 71.2% reported high levels of social distancing. 2) Wellbeing remained stable (life satisfaction and loneliness) or even increased (self-rated health and financial satisfaction) in 2020 compared to previous years. 3) More worry about health and financial consequences was related to lower scores in all four wellbeing measures. Higher societal worry and more social distancing were related to higher wellbeing.

Discussion

In the early stage of the pandemic, Swedish older adults on average rated their wellbeing as high as, or even higher than, previous years. However, those who worried more reported lower wellbeing. Our findings speak to the resilience, but also heterogeneity, among older adults during the pandemic. Further research, on a broad range of health factors and long-term psychological consequences, is needed.