Life Satisfaction during Forced Social Distancing and Home Confinement Derived from the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain

Life satisfaction is one of the main dimensions of well-being related to psychological factors, being essential for a person to adjust to difficult circumstances. The restrictive measures adopted to minimize the diffusion of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) could alter the subjective dimension of well-being, so the objective of this study was to determine the factors related to life satisfaction of the Spanish population during forced home confinement derived from the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was designed, based on an online survey, and disseminated through the main social networks, which included the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and sociodemographic and COVID-19-related variables. The possible relationships between the different variables were studied using univariate and multivariable regression analyses. A total of 3261 subjects participated in the study. Factors associated with greater personal life satisfaction were fewer days of home confinement (beta = (-0.088); p <= 0.001), the perception of having received enough information (beta = 0.076; p <= 0.001), having private access to the outside (beta = 0.066; p <= 0.001), being employed (beta = 0.063; p <= 0.001), being male (beta = 0.057; p = 0.001) and not having been isolated (beta = 0.043; p = 0.013). The results of this study provide novel information about the profiles of people related to greater well-being and life satisfaction during forced social distancing and home confinement, but more studies are needed to help to understand and complement these findings.

Automated summary

The study found that life satisfaction of the Spanish population during the COVID-19 pandemic was related to factors such as the number of days in home confinement, perception of receiving enough information, having private access to the outside, employment status, gender, and isolation experience. More research is needed to further understand these findings and to identify ways to improve people's well-being and life satisfaction.