With the goal of slowing down the spread of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, restrictions to physical contacts have been taken in many countries. We aim at examining to what extent non-physical relationships (via phone, social media, etc.) have compensated the reduction in physical interactions. In particular, we focus on intergenerational relationships among people aged 50+. Our analyses rely on an on-line panel survey based on quota sampling conducted in Italy, Spain and France between April 14^th and 24^th 2020 (https://sites.google.com/unifi.it/intergen-covid). We calculate and apply post-stratification weights based on official statistics and previous probabilistic surveys. Using logistic regression models, we analyze associations between changes in intergenerational relationships and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, we examine whether people that managed to maintain or increase (non-physical) social contacts have suffered less in terms of loneliness and depression.

The project, presented by Prof. Bruno Arpino, is a collaboration of Prof. Bruno Arpino, Prof. Valeria Bordone, Dr. Marta Pasqualini and Prof. Aïda Solé.