Two’s company, but four’s a Crowd: The relationship among COVID-19 stress, household size, and life satisfaction

COVID-19 has induced stress motivated by individuals’ fears of infection and death, while mitigation efforts have also exacerbated stress by reducing individuals’ income, creating feelings of social isolation, and imposing barriers to obtaining basic resources. In this study, we use a representative sample of 693 adults in Michigan to investigate the association between COVID-19 stress and life satisfaction. We find that COVID-19 stress is significantly negatively related to life satisfaction, and that this association is strongest among those living alone and those living in households with many other adults. Exploratory analyses suggest that shopping challenges are most strongly associated directly with stress and indirectly with life satisfaction, while income and boredom challenges are less important. We conclude by discussing the implications of declines in life satisfaction due to an ongoing and potentially worsening stressful event, and consider some strategies for mitigating this non-trivial form of COVID-19 harm.