This is how Falkirk Herald readers say the lockdown has affected their lives - and their biggest concerns

The health and wellbeing of family and friends is the biggest concern for Falkirk Herald readers during the coronavirus lockdown, a special survey has revealed.

To mark 50 days since the lockdown began, our readers were invited to complete ‘The Lockdown Survey’ answering questions on their lockdown experiences and their concerns for the future.

More than half (53 per cent) of Falkirk Herald readers who completed the Scotland-wide survey said they personally felt most concerned about the health and wellbeing of family and friends.

Their next concern was their own health (18 per cent) followed by the impact on their children’s education (nine per cent), the security of their employment (eight per cent) and their own finances (seven per cent)

By comparison, on a Scottish level, 52 per cent answered that they were most concerned about the ‘health and wellbeing of family/ friends’, 18 per cent said their ‘own health and wellbeing’, ten per cent ‘security of employment/ work’, eight per cent ‘impact on your children’s education’ and seven per cent ‘your own/ household finances’.

Other questions asked about how lockdown has affected mental health and relationships.

Of those who took part in the survey, Falkirk district readers said 79 per cent had suffered some effects on their mental health due to the lockdown.

Forty-two per cent answered their mental health was ‘slightly affected’, 13 per cent ‘severely affected’ and 24 per cent ‘not much affected’.

One in five said their mental health had not been affected at all.

Nationally, 41 per cent answered that their mental health was ‘slightly affected’, 12 per cent ‘severely affected’, 25 per cent ‘not much affected’ and 20 per cent ‘not at all affected’.

When asked about the effects the lockdown has had on their relationship with a live-in partner or spouse, the majority of Falkirk Herald readers who took part in the survey said has not changed the relationship (44 per cent).

A total of 13 per cent said it had brought them slightly closer together, while eight per cent said it had brought them much closer together.

The average of Scottish answers on this subject was: 43 per cent ‘it has not changed the relationship’, 13 per cent ‘it has brought us slightly closer together’, nine percent ‘it has brought us much closer together’, five per cent ‘it has pulled us apart slightly’, two per cent ‘it has pulled us apart a lot’ while 27 per cent answered that they do not live with a partner or spouse.

During the course of this week we will be publishing more results of what local people had to say in our lockdown survey.

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