The Mediating Role of Neighborhood Networks on Long‐Term Trajectories of Subjective Well‐Being After Covid‐19

Abstract

We investigate the trajectories of people's subjective well‐being, measured as their overall life satisfaction at five points in time before, during, and after Covid‐19 in Switzerland. Using sequence analysis and hierarchical clustering, we identify three groups of typical trajectories. About half of all respondents experienced a decline in well‐being right after the first lockdown and subsequent recovery to high, pre‐pandemic levels. A quarter consistently reports very high satisfaction throughout all five waves, and another quarter experienced declining well‐being since the outbreak of the pandemic. As a second contribution, we then demonstrate how improving relations with neighbors increases the likelihood of recovering from the negative impact of the pandemic on subjective well‐being. This effect is largely constant across social groups. Conceptualizing vulnerability as the extent to which social groups with different endowments (e.g., financial situation or individual social networks) cope differently with (exogenous) stressors, we further find slightly more pronounced positive effects of improving neighborly relations during the pandemic for more vulnerable people in terms of household finances and education. Moreover, being able to count on emotional support from neighbors and friends prior to the pandemic generally guarded against experiencing declining well‐being. Meanwhile, people with less financial means, poorer health, and less support from friends and neighbors are also more likely to be in the trajectory cluster of declining well‐being.