"One can feel lonely, despite being well supported by one’s social networks as is the case for Luxembourg,” the report authors wrote. Shutterstock

"One can feel lonely, despite being well supported by one’s social networks as is the case for Luxembourg,” the report authors wrote. Shutterstock

The first results of the University of Luxembourg's population wellbeing survey, drawn from survey data from Luxembourg, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden, provides a snapshot of how residents were affected.

Luxembourg was found to have the third-highest rate of depression and anxiety, behind Italy and Spain, where infection levels were considerably higher. Along with Spain and Italy, Luxembourg also reported the highest levels of perceived stress in the two weeks before completing the survey. And its residents reported the highest level of loneliness, on a par with respondents from Italy. This was observed despite the fact that perceived social support was highest in Luxembourg.

“This shows that one can feel lonely, despite being well supported by one’s social networks as is the case for Luxembourg,” the report authors wrote.

Comparatively, Luxembourg residents were better protected from the economic fall-out during the time the survey was carried out. Working time reduced for just 9% of the population, compared to on average 15-20% for residents in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. What is more, 8% of people took leave for family reasons, a proportion higher than other countries. Logically, the amount of time spent on childcare increased (by 2.65 hours), as did the time spent on household chores and Luxembourg recorded the highest increase of the six countries.

Some 4% of Luxembourg residents reported earning less, and 13.93% of households in Luxembourg experienced a decrease in monthly income, the lowest proportion of all the countries surveyed.

Luxembourg respondents said that they were less worried about their finances, but more worried about relatives.

At the same time, Luxembourg residents had the highest confidence in their government, and in their health service to deal with the pandemic.

The findings of the survey "COME-HERE: How do different confinement measures affect people in Luxembourg, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden?" were published on 7 July. The results of two further surveys are expected to be published shortly.