Respondent characteristics
| Study sample (n=2008) | Pre-COVID-19 outbreak onset (n=793) | Post-COVID-19 outbreak onset (n=1215) | P value* | |
| Age, years (SD, range) | 46.7 (17.3, 18–89) | 45.9 (17.1, 18–83) | 47.2 (17.4, 18–89) | 0.11 |
| Gender (%) | ||||
| Female | 1015 (51) | 395 (50) | 620 (51) | 0.59 |
| Male | 993 (49) | 398 (50) | 595 (49) | |
| Location (%) | ||||
| Metropolitan | 1251 (62) | 506 (64) | 745 (61) | 0.26 |
| Remote/rural/regional centre | 757 (38) | 287 (36) | 470 (39) | |
| Educational attainment (%) | ||||
| Primary/some high school | 202 (10) | 80 (10) | 122 (10) | 0.40 |
| High school or equivalent | 420 (21) | 156 (20) | 264 (22) | |
| Some university/TAFE but no degree | 630 (31) | 265 (33) | 365 (30) | |
| Bachelor’s/graduate degree | 756 (38) | 292 (37) | 464 (38) | |
| Employment status (%) | ||||
| Employed working full time | 712 (35) | 289 (36) | 423 (35) | 0.67 |
| Employed working part time | 396 (20) | 162 (20) | 234 (19) | |
| Not employed/family caring/full-time student | 473 (24) | 179 (23) | 294 (24) | |
| Retired | 427 (21) | 163 (21) | 264 (22) | |
| Personal weekly income (%) | ||||
| ≤$A599 | 663 (33) | 252 (32) | 411 (34) | 0.63 |
| $A600–$A1249 | 636 (32) | 256 (32) | 380 (31) | |
| ≥$A1250 | 709 (35) | 285 (36) | 424 (35) |
Data are n (%) or mean (SD), unless otherwise indicated.
In the most recent Australian census, the proportions of female and non-metropolitan respondents were 51% and 29%, respectively, the median age and weekly personal income were 38 years and $A662, respectively, and 22% of Australians had a bachelor’s degree or higher qualification (https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/036).
*P values indicate the differences in respondent characteristics between two subsamples before versus after COVID-19 outbreak onset.
TAFE, Technical and Further Education.