This study estimates the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on life satisfaction and stress and examines whether these effects vary across different sociodemographic groups using a nationally representative sample in South Korea. We estimate the causal effects of COVID-19 on psychological well-being by exploiting regional variation in the spread of the pandemic in South Korea. While the number of confirmed cases was very small in other provinces in the first half of 2020, the coronavirus spread rapidly in Daegu after an outbreak in one church. We employ a difference-in-differences approach that compares changes in people’s life satisfaction and stress before-and-after the initial surge of COVID-19 cases in Daegu and other provinces. Our results show that the proportion of people who are dissatisfied with life increased by 2.8–6.5 percentage points more in Daegu than in other provinces after the COVID-19 outbreak. During the same period, the proportion of people who reported feeling stressed increased more in Daegu than in other provinces by 5.8–8.9 percentage points. Our results also suggest that the negative impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on psychological well-being is significantly greater for men, young adults, middle-aged adults, self-employed workers, and middle-income individuals. On the other hand, the proportion of people who report feeling stressed among the highest-educated (a master’s degree or higher) and high-income individuals decreased after the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak.

本研究估计了 COVID-19 大流行对生活满意度和压力的影响，并使用韩国具有全国代表性的样本检验了这些影响是否因不同的社会人口群体而异。我们通过利用韩国大流行病传播的区域差异来估计 COVID-19 对心理健康的因果影响。虽然 2020 年上半年其他省份的确诊病例数量很少，但在一座教堂爆发后，冠状病毒在大邱迅速传播。我们采用一种差异中的差异方法，比较大邱和其他省份 COVID-19 病例最初激增前后人们生活满意度和压力的变化。我们的结果表明，对生活不满意的人的比例增加了 2.8–6。COVID-19 爆发后，大邱比其他省份高出 5 个百分点。同期，大邱报告感到有压力的人口比例比其他省份高出 5.8-8.9 个百分点。我们的结果还表明，COVID-19 爆发对男性、年轻人、中年人、个体经营者和中等收入人群的心理健康的负面影响要大得多。另一方面，在 COVID-19 爆发后，受教育程度最高（硕士或以上）和高收入人群中报告感到压力的人数比例有所下降。大邱报告感到有压力的人的比例比其他省份高出 5.8-8.9 个百分点。我们的结果还表明，COVID-19 爆发对男性、年轻人、中年人、个体经营者和中等收入人群的心理健康的负面影响要大得多。另一方面，在 COVID-19 爆发后，受教育程度最高（硕士或以上）和高收入人群中报告感到压力的人数比例有所下降。大邱报告感到有压力的人的比例比其他省份高出 5.8-8.9 个百分点。我们的结果还表明，COVID-19 爆发对男性、年轻人、中年人、个体经营者和中等收入人群的心理健康的负面影响要大得多。另一方面，在 COVID-19 爆发后，受教育程度最高（硕士或以上）和高收入人群中报告感到压力的人数比例有所下降。