This is how Fife Today 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 Fife Today 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 (55 per cent) of Fife Today 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 (16 per cent) followed by the impact on their children’s education (ten per cent), the security of their employment (nine 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, 79 per cent of Fifers said they had suffered some effects on their mental health due to the lockdown.

Forty-four per cent answered their mental health was ‘slightly affected’, 11 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 Fife Today readers who took part in the survey said has not changed the relationship (44 per cent).

A total of 12 per cent said it had brought them slightly closer together, while 11 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.

A message from the Editor:

While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you. In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you - wherever possible and providing it is safe for you to do so - to also please purchase a copy of our newspapers; the Fife Free Press, Fife Herald, St Andrews Citizen, East Fife Mail and Glenrothes Gazette.

Inevitably falling advertising revenues will start to have an impact on local newspapers and the way we continue to work during this period of uncertainty.

The support of our readers has never been more important as we try to make sure that we keep you connected with your community during this time. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. We need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Our team of trusted reporters are working incredibly hard behind the scenes - from kitchen tables and spare bedrooms - to look at how we can do this, and your continued support of our newspapers across Fife will help to protect their viability in the days and weeks ahead.

For more details on our subscription offers please visit email [email protected] or call us on 0330 4033004

Thank you

Allan Crow, Editor, Fife Free Press