How do income changes impact on mental health and wellbeing for working-age adults? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Thomson, Rachel; Igelström, Erik; Purba, Amrit Kaur; Shimonovich, Michal; Thomson, Hilary; McCartney, Gerry; Reeves, Aaron; Leyland, Alastair H.; Pearce, Anna; Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal

doi:10.1016/s2468-2667(22)00058-5

Cited by 82 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 165 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Some scholars have studied the impact of income on mental health. Thomson et al [ 39 ] found that changes in income may affect mental health; as income increases, mental health improves, particularly where individuals move out of poverty. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, research by Golberstein et al [ 40 ] corroborates this notion, showing that higher income positively impacts mental health by reducing psychosocial stress associated with financial hardship.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, higher income increases people’s financial ability to afford a spending budget for the living standards and professional services that are required to maintain healthy lifestyles, improving factors such as depression, impaired relationships, and food security [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 47 ]. However, existing research shows that for low-income groups and middle- and high-income groups, the impact of income changes on their mental health may be different [ 39 ], and this group difference shows that income has a non-linear effect on mental health. Based on the above analysis, we propose Hypothesis 1.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Relationship between Income and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China

Zhou

2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mental health problems represent one most pressing concerns in the world, which produce costly consequences for individuals, families and society as a whole. One of the determinants on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic is income. To complement relevant research and provide valuable recommendations for governments and societies, this study investigates the nexus between income and mental health in China by employing 8049 observations from the 2020 China Family Panel Studies. Using ordinary least squares regression we find the significant positive relationship between income and mental health, and estimate the effect of income on mental health. Furthermore, this effect is heterogeneous depending on individuals’ education level and registered residence type. Finally, individuals’ economic status and happiness are shown to be the potential mechanism through which the effect of income on mental health operates.

show abstract

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship between Income and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China

Zhou

2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…31 There is also now high quality systematic review evidence that changes in income, and especially movement into or out of poverty, have a profound impact on mental health and wellbeing. 32 In Scotland, antidepressant use increased over the period 2009 to 2015, and especially in those areas impacted most by unemployment and reductions in the real value of social security benefits. 33 More recently, a wide range of mental health measures are evidenced to have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic for some groups, 34 35 36 37 with mixed results for the short-term impacts of the pandemic from studies with less robust sampling methods.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in psychological distress in Great Britain, 1991-2019: evidence from three representative surveys

Zhang

Gagné

Walsh

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background. Previously improving UK mortality trends stalled around 2012 due to economic policy changes. This paper examines whether trends in psychological distress across three population surveys show similar trends. Methods. We report the percentages reporting psychological distress (4+ in the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12)) from Understanding Society (Great Britain, 1991-2019), Scottish Health Survey (SHeS, 1995-2019) and Health Survey for England (HSE, 2003-2018) for the population overall, and stratified by sex, age and area deprivation. Summary inequality indices were calculated and segmented regressions fitted to identify turning points after 2010. Results. Psychological distress was higher in Understanding Society than in the SHeS or HSE. There was a slight improvement between 1992 and 2015 in Understanding Society (with prevalence declining from 20.6% to 18.6%) with some fluctuations. After 2015 there is some evidence of an overall deterioration in psychological distress across surveys. Prevalence worsened notably among those aged 16-34 years after 2010 (all three surveys), and aged 35-64 years in Understanding Society and SHeS after 2015. In contrast, the prevalence declined in those aged 65+ years in Understanding Society after around 2008, with less clear trends in the other surveys. The prevalence was around twice as high in the most deprived compared to the least deprived areas, and higher in women, with trends by deprivation and sex similar to the populations overall. Conclusion. Psychological distress worsened amongst working-age adults after around 2015 across British population surveys, mirroring the mortality trends. This indicates a widespread health crisis that pre-dates the COVID-19 pandemic.

show abstract

“…Common policies intended to reduce economic disparities directly through redistributive welfare programs or financial incentives (e.g., Conditional Cash Transfer programs) (6) have potential value considering that population well-being tends to improve when population income increases, especially for people living in poverty or lower-income countries (7). However, such redistributive policies have failed to sufficiently minimize the increasing wealth gap and need to be integrated with other substantive interventions (8).…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

The psychology and policy of overcoming economic inequality

Ruggeri¹,

Symeonidou²,

Pelica³

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

How do income changes impact on mental health and wellbeing for working-age adults? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Cited by 82 publications

References 165 publications

Relationship between Income and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China

Relationship between Income and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China

Trends in psychological distress in Great Britain, 1991-2019: evidence from three representative surveys

The psychology and policy of overcoming economic inequality

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About