Is the Mental Fallout From a Pandemic Moderated by Neighbourhood Characteristics? Evidence From the First Wave of COVID-19 in Great Britain

As is well documented, the first wave of the covid-19 pandemic, with its concomitant lockdown measures, is associated with marked deterioration of mental health in many countries. Using a quasi-experimental design and drawing on several small-area indicators, we probe the potential moderating role of neighbourhood and outdoor dwelling characteristics when it comes to the impact of the pandemic’s first wave for mental health in Great Britain. We find practically (and mostly statistically) insignificant differences in mental health impact according to neighbourhood characteristics. The one exception being access to ‘blue space’ whereby being closer to blue spaces (i.e. lakes, rivers, or beaches) appears to mitigate some of the mental health costs due to the pandemic. In contrast, we find a variety of outdoor dwelling characteristics such as garden space, presence of a rooftop, terrace or balcony as well as other house outdoor space significantly predict the mental distress experienced during the first wave of the pandemic. Overall, our results suggest that house outdoor spaces seem to play a more prominent role in moderating the mental health consequences during the first pandemic wave.