Dutch less satisfied with life in Covid pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic and its accompanying lockdown seems to be wearing Netherlands residents down. For the first time since the start of the crisis, Netherlands residents give their lives a lower score, dropping from 7.0 to 6.6, according to a study commissioned by the Trimbos Institute, Trouw reports.

Last year, the "score your life figure" remained stable, despite the coronaviurs crisis. I&O Research surveyed 1,297 adults for the Trimbos Institute between January 25 and February 2. This was the third such survey done for Trimbos since the pandemic broke out.

A quarter of respondents said that their mental health deteriorated since the start of the pandemic, compared to one in six last year. According to the Trimbos Institute, people report serious mental health issues like depression and anxiety, trouble sleeping, and feelings of loneliness. The youngest age group in the survey, people between the ages of 20 and 35, scored worse than average.

"People turned out to be resilient last year, but the length of this second lockdown makes the difference. We see that more people are sick of it," Derek de Beurs, researcher at the Trimbos Institute, said to the newspaper.

The increase in mental health problems is also resulting in adherence to the coronavirus measures declining. This can be seen in crowded parks, but also in figures from public health institute RIVM. The RIVM found that fewer people adhere to the one visitor per day rule, and the percentage of people who get tested when they have symptoms dropped from 50 to 43 percent at the end of January, according to the newspaper.

It therefore does not surprise De Beurs that the government decided to relax some of the lockdown measures. "If you look at the numbers, people are fed up with the situation. In our research they indicate that they need perspective. Perhaps the current easing will help."