More worryingly, the researchers found that the behavioural changes have occurred alongside worsening mental health, and decreased levels of happiness.
In spite of the vaccine roll-out and better drugs, people are feeling more miserable than last April.
People surveyed were asked to what extent they felt happy in the past week on a scale from 0 (not at all) to 10 (completely), with the average in the past week being 5.6, versus 5.8 in April.
Life satisfaction has also continued to deteriorate, with levels now comparable to those near the start of lockdown in Spring 2020.
Almost half (45 per cent) of people are now worried about catching or becoming seriously ill from Covid-19; the highest level since the middle of the first lockdown back in April.
The study is the largest looking into how adults are feeling about the lockdown, Government advice and overall well-being and mental health with more than 70,000 participants who have been followed across the past 44 weeks.
However, in spite of the gloom, compliance with the rules has continued increasing since Christmas across the latest lockdown, and is now as high as it was at the end of the strict lockdown in the UK in May 2020.
‘Majority’ compliance is being reported by 97 per cent of people – a continued improvement across all demographic groups – while ‘complete’ compliance is being reported by 60 per cent of people.
Cheryl Lloyd, education programme head at the Nuffield Foundation, which is helping to fund…
