Charting well-being over adulthood into pandemic times: a longitudinal perspective

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Public Health

Background:

• Understanding adult life course well-being is crucial for public health.
• The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to global well-being.
• Longitudinal data is essential to track changes in well-being over time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate diverse well-being trajectories across the adult life course.
• To examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on different well-being trajectories.
• To explore how personal, educational, and employment factors mediate pandemic effects on well-being.

Main Methods:

• Modeling well-being trajectories from early adulthood (age 28) to mid-adulthood (age 51).
• Analyzing a cohort of British Columbians from 1998 to 2021, including the pandemic period.
• Statistical analysis to identify distinct well-being patterns and pandemic-related variations.

Main Results:

• Identified diverse well-being trajectories, with most individuals maintaining high well-being.
• Approximately 20% experienced chronically low or declining well-being, particularly in mid-adulthood during the pandemic.
• Post-secondary education was associated with a lower likelihood of reporting low well-being trajectories.
• Individuals with the lowest well-being trajectories experienced the most significant negative pandemic impacts, exacerbating inequalities.

Conclusions:

• Well-being trajectories are diverse and influenced by factors like education.
• The COVID-19 pandemic amplified existing inequalities, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations.
• Longitudinal research is vital for understanding population health and informing targeted interventions.