Gender inequalities in the disruption of long-term life satisfaction trajectories during the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of time use: evidence from the 1970 British birth cohort

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted women’s mental health, although most evidence has focused on mental illbeing outcomes. Previous research suggests that gendered differences in time-use may explain this disparity, as women generally spend more time doing psychologically taxing activities than men. We investigated gender differences in the long-term trajectories of life satisfaction, how these were impacted during the pandemic, and the role of time-use differences in explaining gender inequalities.MethodsWe used data from 6766 (56.2% women) members of the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70), a nationally representative birth cohort of people born in Great Britain in 1970, who were alive and residing in the UK between May 2020 and March 2021. Life satisfaction was prospectively assessed between the ages of 26 (1996) and 51 (2021) using a single question with responses ranging from 0 (lowest) to 10 (highest). We analysed life satisfaction trajectories using piecewise latent growth curve models and investigated whether gender differences in the change in the life satisfaction trajectories with the pandemic were explained by self-reported time spent doing different paid and unpaid activities.FindingsWomen had consistently higher life satisfaction than men prior to the pandemic (Δintercept,unadjusted=0.213 [95% CI: 0.087, 0.340],p=.001) and experienced a more accelerated decline with the pandemic onset (Δquad2,unadjusted=−0.018 [−0.026, −0.011],p<.001). Time-use differences did not account for the more accelerated decrease in women’s life satisfaction levels with the pandemic (Δquad2,adjusted=−0.016 [−0.031, −0.001],p=.035).InterpretationOur study shows pronounced gender inequalities in the impact of the pandemic on the long-term life satisfaction trajectories of adults in their 50s, with women losing their historical advantage over men. Self-reported time-use differences did not account for these inequalities, suggesting that they could be linked to other factors including the ‘mental load’ (invisible, unrecognised labour disproportionately undertook by women) or the menopausal transition.