Does higher education shape change in happiness during the COVID-19 pandemic? Evidence from working-age adults in China

The COVID-19 pandemic had profound consequences for subjective well-being. Yet these consequences may have varied by educational attainment. This study aims to investigate whether patterns of happiness change during the COVID-19 pandemic differed between working-age adults with and without higher education. Using nationally representative panel data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) and focusing on the 2018 and 2020 waves (N = 13,203), this research employs a difference-in-differences design to compare changes in self-reported happiness between individuals with and without higher education. By centering higher education as a key stratifying factor, this study extends the higher education literature on how large-scale crises affect happiness. The findings reveal that individuals with higher education experienced a significantly less pronounced decline in self-reported happiness (β = 0.186, p = 0.003) during the public health crisis, and this apparent higher-education advantage in pandemic-related happiness is highly conditional on socioeconomic and psychosocial circumstances. The results underscore the need for policymakers to address educational disparities when developing mental health and social support strategies for future large-scale crises.