Respondents were asked if their mental health/well-being has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The response options to this question were (1) Yes, it has been negatively affected (2) Yes, it has been positively affected (3) No, it has not been affected. In February, almost six in ten (57.1%) respondents reported that their mental health/well-being has been negatively affected by the pandemic.  Just over 4% reported a positive effect.  See Table 2.1 and Figure 2.1.

Lowest overall life satisfaction scores since this well-being indicator was first collected in 2013

Respondents were also asked to rate on a scale from 0 (‘Not at all satisfied’) to 10 (‘Completely satisfied’) their satisfaction level with their overall lives.  Overall life satisfaction statistics from this survey are compared with results from the April, August and November 2020 rounds of the Social Impact of COVID-19 survey and with those from the 2013 and 2018 Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC).  In February 2021, the mean overall life satisfaction score was 5.8.  This is the lowest score recorded since this indicator was first collected in 2013.  See Table 2.2 and Figure 2.2.

Due to a processing error, the 2013, 2018 and April 2020 values for the Low, Medium and High satisfaction indicators were incorrectly reported.  Figure 2.3 and Table 2.2b, and related text have been corrected as of 11.00am on 13/10/21.

Respondents with an overall life satisfaction score of 0-5 are categorised as having a Low overall life satisfaction rate, those with a score of 6-8 have a Medium rate and those with a score of 9-10 have a High overall life satisfaction rate.  In February 2021, more than four in ten (41.7%)  respondents rated their overall life satisfaction as Low.  This is the highest rating of Low overall life satisfaction captured in these surveys to date.

In April 2020, when COVID-19 related restrictions were first implemented, three in ten (30.5%) respondents rated their overall life satisfaction as Low.  After restrictions were eased in August 2020 this rate dropped to just over two in ten (21.6%).  In November 2020, during the second wave of COVID-19 and when the people of Ireland were living under Level 5 restrictions the rate increased to 35.6%.  The comparable rate in 2018, a time when the Irish economy was growing strongly was 8.8%.  See Table 2.3 and Figure 2.3.

Proportion of respondents feeling downhearted or depressed All or Most of the time almost three times the April 2020 rate

Respondents were asked how often, in the four-week period preceding their interview, they felt ‘downhearted or depressed’, ‘and ‘lonely’.  The responses to these emotional well-being questions were given on a 5-point scale, with answers ranging from ‘None of the time’ to ‘All of the time’.  These emotional well-being questions were also asked in the April and November 2020 rounds of the Social Impact of COVID-19 survey.

In November 2020, 11.5% of respondents reported that they felt downhearted or depressed All or Most of the time, double the equivalent rate in April 2020 (5.5%).  In February 2021, this rate has increased to 15.1% (almost three times the April 2020 rate).  See Table 2.4 and Figure 2.4.

The percentage of respondents that felt lonely All or Most of the time doubled between April and November 2020, from 6.8% to 13.7%.  The rate reporting feeling lonely All or Most of the time in February 2021 is 13.1%, relatively unchanged from the November 2020 rate.

Women report lower well-being scores than men

In February 2021, 46.9% of female respondents reported Low  overall life satisfaction, over 10 percentage points higher than the male rate (36.2%).  Female respondents were more likely to report feeling lonely All or Most of the time (16.9% compared with 9.2% of men).  Over six in ten female respondents (62.4%) reported that their mental health/well-being has been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic compared with just over five in ten (51.7%) of male respondents.  Overall, 4.2% of respondents reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has positively affected their mental health.  Analysis by sex shows that female respondents were more likely to report a positive impact, with 6.7% reporting such an effect, compared with 1.6% of men.  See Tables 2.1-2.5 and Figure 2.6.

Younger respondents report lower well-being scores

In all rounds of the Social Impact of COVID-19 survey where well-being statistics were collected, younger adults (those aged 18-34) were more likely to report lower well-being scores.  For example, in February 2021, over four in ten (42.1%) respondents aged 18-34 rated their overall life satisfaction as Low, compared with 25.6% of those aged 70 and over.  Almost three in four (74.4%) younger adults believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected their mental health, compared to 32.4% of respondents aged 70 and over.  Higher percentages of younger adults also reported feeling ‘lonely’ or ‘downhearted and depressed’ All or Most of the time when compared to older adults.  See Tables 2.1-2.5 and Figure 2.7.

Survey respondents were asked to rate, on a scale from 0 (‘Not at all’) to 10 (‘Entirely’), the extent they were following the government’s current advice and guidelines regarding COVID-19.  Responses were grouped as Low (0-5), Medium (6-8) or High (9-10).

In February 2021, three in four (75.1%) respondents rated their compliance with current government advice and guidelines as High.  This is ten percentage points higher than the rate in November 2020, when 65.2% of respondents rated their compliance as High.  Respondents reporting High compliance was lowest in June (59.9%) when the country was just about to enter Phase 3 of the Roadmap for reopening society and highest in April (80.6%) approximately one month after initial COVID-19 restrictions were implemented.  See Figure 2.8.

Analysis of compliance by age shows that the High compliance rates tend to increase with age.  Just over two in three (67.3%) respondents aged 18-34 rated their compliance as High compared with 84.7% of those aged 70 years and over.  See Table 2.6.

Respondents were asked whether they think that the current Level 5 response to managing COVID-19 related risk is Appropriate, Too extreme or Not sufficient.  In the November 2020 round of the Social Impact of COVID-19 survey, during the second COVID-19 wave, respondents were also asked this question.  In February 2021, six in ten (60.4%) respondents said that the current Level 5 response is Appropriate, 13.1% felt that it is Too extreme with 26.4% believing it is Not Sufficient.  In the November 2020, over seven in ten (71.5%) respondents said that the Level 5 response was Appropriate, 18.3% felt it was Too extreme and 10.2% believed that it was Not Sufficient.  See Table 2.7 and Figure 2.9.

Analysis by age shows that in February 2021 the likelihood of a respondent feeling that the Level 5 response is Not Sufficient increases with age, with 19.0% of respondents aged 18-34 agreeing that the Level 5 response is Not Sufficient rising to 35.3% for those aged 70 years and over.  In November 2020, the opposite was true in that younger adults were more likely to feel that the Level 5 response was Not Sufficient with 13.7% of those aged 18-34 believing this compared with 6.6% of those aged 70 and over.  See Table 2.7 and Figure 2.10.

Respondents were asked if they believe that once current Level 5 restrictions are lifted, that similar restrictions will be reimposed before the end of 2021.  Six in ten (61.4%) respondents believe that similar restrictions will be reimposed before the end of the year.  Over one in ten (12.5%) answered that they do not think similar restrictions will be reimposed and over one in four (26.1%) answered ‘Don’t know’. Respondents living in households with children were more likely to report that they believe that similar restrictions will be reimposed with 71.0% of such respondents reporting this.  The comparable rate for respondents living in one adult and two or more adult households without children is 55.2% and 55.6% respectively.  See Table 2.8 and Figure 2.11.

In the November 2020 Social Impact of COVID-19 survey, respondents were asked how long they think it will be before their lives return to something similar to what it was pre-COVID-19.  In November four in ten (39.2%) respondents thought that this would happen within a year.  In the February 2021 survey 23.6% of respondents think that their lives will return to something similar to what it was pre-COVID-19 by November 2021.

In November 2020 4.3% of respondents believed that their lives will Never return to normal.  The comparable rate in February 2021 is 8.9% (double the November 2020 rate).  See table 2.9 and Fig 2.12.

For further COVID-19 related information go to the CSO COVID-19 Information Hub.