Introduction

As a measure for controlling COVID-19, lockdown has had a psychological impact on people. Since subjective well-being (SW) has been positively associated with mental health, the identification of its predictors in this context will enable it to be strengthened.

Objective

To generate and test explanatory models for SW in men and women under lockdown due to the pandemic.

Method

Four thousand seven hundred and seventy-one inhabitants of Mexico, with paid employment, under lockdown, answered a set of instruments via the Internet that evaluated positive and negative psychological factors in addition to SW. Based on correlation and multiple regression analysis, models were proposed for men and women, which were tested by path analysis.

Results

Both models successfully fit the data and explained a high proportion of the SW variance. Spiritual strength was the best predictor, mainly for women, while the capacity for enjoyment was central to the models, mediating the effect of empathy and depression.

Discussion and conclusion

SW is significantly predicted by the factors studied, especially spiritual strength and capacity for enjoyment, which seem to provide men and women with fortitude and meaning of life in adverse circumstances such as today’s.

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