Open AccessSubjective Well-Being of Chinese Sina Weibo Users in Residential Lockdown During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Machine Learning Analysis
Author(s) -
Yilin Wang,
Peijing Wu,
Xiaoqian Liu,
Sijia Li,
Tingshao Zhu,
Nan Zhao
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
jmir. journal of medical internet research/journal of medical internet research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.446
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1439-4456
pISSN - 1438-8871
DOI - 10.2196/24775
Subject(s) - covid-19 , pandemic , china , psychology , sample (material) , residential area , geography , environmental health , demography , socioeconomics , medicine , sociology , engineering , disease , chemistry , civil engineering , archaeology , pathology , chromatography , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, residential lockdowns were implemented in numerous cities in China to contain the rapid spread of the disease. Although these stringent regulations effectively slowed the spread of COVID-19, they may have posed challenges to the well-being of residents. Objective This study aims to explore the effects of residential lockdown on the subjective well-being (SWB) of individuals in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods The sample consisted of 1790 Sina Weibo users who were residents of cities that imposed residential lockdowns, of which 1310 users (73.18%) were female, and 3580 users who were residents of cities that were not locked down (gender-matched with the 1790 lockdown residents). In both the lockdown and nonlockdown groups, we calculated SWB indicators during the 2 weeks before and after the enforcement date of the residential lockdown using individuals’ original posts on Sina Weibo. SWB was calculated via online ecological recognition, which is based on established machine learning predictive models. Results The interactions of time (before the residential lockdown or after the residential lockdown) × area (lockdown or nonlockdown) in the integral analysis (N=5370) showed that after the residential lockdown, compared with the nonlockdown group, the lockdown group scored lower in some negative SWB indicators, including somatization ( F 1,5368 =13.593, P <.001) and paranoid ideation ( F 1,5368 =14.333, P <.001). The interactions of time (before the residential lockdown or after the residential lockdown) × area (developed or underdeveloped) in the comparison of residential lockdown areas with different levels of economic development (N=1790) indicated that the SWB of residents in underdeveloped areas showed no significant change after the residential lockdown ( P >.05), while that of residents in developed areas changed. Conclusions These findings increase our understanding of the psychological impact and cost of residential lockdown during an epidemic. The more negative changes in the SWB of residents in developed areas imply a greater need for psychological intervention under residential lockdown in such areas.