2.1. Survey

We assessed QOL and compliance to restrictions by conducting a survey of residents in Stockholm. The first part of the survey consisted of background demographic questions with multiple choice answer alternatives, as follows: Gender (male/female/other); age (ranges 18–35; 35–45; 45–55; 55–65 and 65+ years); main occupation (working; studying; on sick leave; unemployed; on parental leave; retired and other); annual income before tax (under 100; 100–200,000; 200–300,000; 300–400,000; 400–500,000; 500–600,000; over 600,000 Swedish Krona); education level (not completed primary school; completed primary school; completed high school; completed university/college); living conditions (living alone; living with one other person; living with several other persons; other); civil status (single; partner; partner but living apart; married; other); number of children living at home (0; 1; 2; 3 or more). Also, the respondents were asked to indicate if they had, during the past half year, undergone a dramatic life event such as the death or illness of a closely related person, separation from a partner, loss of employment, or economic hardship.

This survey section was followed by the World Health Organization Quality of Life abbreviated version (WHOQOL‐BREF; WHO, 1998), which has been designed by the WHO to assess health‐related QOL in a cross‐cultural context. The WHOQOL‐BREF is a 26‐item questionnaire derived from the WHOQOL‐100 survey with 100 questions, that is used to assess overall QOL and considers QOL in four domains, namely, physical well‐being, psychological well‐being, social relationships, and environment. Each question is scored on a five‐point Likert scale, and the domain scores range from 4 to 20, with higher scores indicating better QOL. In addition to collecting WHOQOL‐BREF responses as baseline data, the questionnaire was used as an informative “primer,” so that participants would have some knowledge about what the researchers meant, when using the term “Quality of Life” in the follow‐up questions described below.

In our research survey, the WHOQOL‐BREF was followed by questions assessing level of compliance with restrictions recommended by the Swedish Public Health Agency during lockdown, on a four‐point Likert scale – “not compliant” “partly compliant,” “mostly compliant,” and “fully compliant.” These restrictions concerned hand hygiene, social distancing, avoiding social gatherings and places where crowds gather, avoiding travel, and isolating oneself in one's home. Each of the compliance questions was followed by a follow‐up question about how much the respondent regarded that the specific restriction had impacted their QOL – assessed on a five‐point Likert scale with the following verbal anchors: “very positive,” “a little positive,” “no effect,” “a little negative,” and “very negative.”