scholarly journals The role of social integration in the adverse effect of unemployment on mental health – Testing the causal pathway and buffering hypotheses using panel data

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Krug ◽  
Sebastian Prechsl
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Adverse Effect ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
Job Search ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Causal Pathway ◽  
Buffering Hypothesis

Social integration is considered crucially important for understanding the adverse effect of unemployment on mental health. Social integration is assumed to either bring about the health effects of unemployment (causal pathway hypothesis) or shield the unemployed from such effects (buffering hypothesis). However, there is scarce empirical evidence, especially based on panel data, regarding these two hypotheses. In our analysis, we use up to ten waves of the “Labour Market and Social Security” (PASS) German panel study and apply fixed effects panel regressions to account for unobserved confounders. We test several indicators that cover different aspects of social integration (numbers of strong and weak ties, conflict in the household, employed friends, general and job search-specific social support). We find no empirical support for the causal pathway hypothesis and only very limited support for the buffering hypothesis.

scholarly journals Time-use and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a panel analysis of 55,204 adults followed across 11 weeks of lockdown in the UK

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feifei Bu ◽  
Andrew Steptoe ◽  
Hei Wan Mak ◽  
Daisy Fancourt
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Time Use ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Social Study ◽  
Panel Analysis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

There is currently major concern about the impact of the global COVID 19 outbreak on mental health. But it remains unclear how individual behaviors could exacerbate or protect against adverse changes in mental health. This study aimed to examine the associations between specific activities (or time use) and mental health and wellbeing amongst people during the COVID 19 pandemic. Data were from the UCL COVID 19 Social Study; a panel study collecting data weekly during the COVID 19 pandemic. The analytical sample consisted of 55,204 adults living in the UK who were followed up for the strict 11 week lockdown period from 21st March to 31st May 2020. Data were analyzed using fixed effects and Arellano Bond models. We found that changes in time spent on a range of activities were associated with changes in mental health and wellbeing. After controlling for bidirectionality, behaviors involving outdoor activities including gardening and exercising predicted subsequent improvements in mental health and wellbeing, while increased time spent on following news about COVID 19 predicted declines in mental health and wellbeing. These results are relevant to the formulation of guidance for people obliged to spend extended periods in isolation during health emergencies, and may help the public to maintain wellbeing during future pandemics.

Financial Debt and Mental Health of Young Adults

2021 ◽  
pp. JFCP-18-00048
Author(s):  
Jinhee Kim ◽  
Swarn Chatterjee
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Transition To Adulthood ◽  
Credit Card ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Student Loan ◽  
Negatively Associated

The purpose of this study is to examine the debt burdens, perceived capabilities, and mental health of young adults. Panel data constructed from the 2009 to 2013 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and its Transition to Adulthood (TA) supplement are used in this study. The multinomial logistic regression analysis findings showed that the amount of revolving debt was negatively associated with young adults’ mental health. On the other hand, perceived abilities in acting responsibly, in solving problems, and in managing money were positively associated with the mental health of young adults. The fixed effects regression analysis results indicate that the amounts of credit card and student loan debt from the previous period were negatively associated with an increase in the mental health continuum scores of young adults over time. A discussion of the implications of this study’s key findings for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners is included.

scholarly journals Invited Commentary: Linking Job Security and Mental Health—Challenges and Future Directions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Burgard
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Modifying Factors ◽  
Period Effects ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Time Invariant ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Perceived Job Insecurity

Abstract Research in the social and health sciences has linked job insecurity to poorer mental health but relies on observational data and faces challenges of causal inference. LaMontagne et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2020;000(00):000–000) innovate by using both within-person fixed-effects and random-effects regression to analyze data from 14 annual waves of an Australian survey spanning 2002–2015. Using this more rigorous design, they find that improvements in perceived job insecurity were associated with improvements in Mental Health Inventory–5 scores in a large, nationally representative panel study. By using each respondent as their own control, fixed-effects models remove the influence of time-invariant confounders. Innovative new approaches are still needed to address the causal directionality of the association and to capture both those whose exposure changes as well as those for whom it persists. Future work should also consider potential modifying factors including societal conditions, macroeconomic and other period effects, and characteristics of individuals, as well as drawing on multidisciplinary approaches that consider jobs as a combination of multiple health-relevant exposures and embed individual workers in families and communities to assess the full reach and consequences of perceived job insecurity.

scholarly journals Soziale Netzwerke Langzeitarbeitsloser und die Aufnahme einer Erwerbstätigkeit

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Krug ◽  
Christof Wolf ◽  
Mark Trappmann
Keyword(s):  
Job Search ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Soziale Netzwerke ◽  
Network Resources ◽  
Fixed Effects Regression ◽  
Time Invariant ◽  
The Unemployed ◽  
Soziale Sicherung

(English below)Dieser Beitrag geht der Frage nach, ob die sozialen Netzwerke von Arbeitslosen deren Chancen zur Aufnahme einer Erwerbstätigkeit positiv beeinflussen. Ausgehend von in der aktuellen Literatur diskutierten Wirkmechanismen werden mehrere Hypothesen zu unterschiedlichen Aspekten des Netzwerks aufgestellt. Es wird angenommen, dass Arbeitslose umso eher in Arbeit kommen, je größer der Umfang ihrer (starken und schwachen) sozialen Beziehungen ist, je mehr Kontakt zu Erwerbstätigen sie haben und je mehr Ressourcen ihr Netzwerk enthält. Auf Basis des Panels „Arbeitsmarkt und soziale Sicherung“ mit dem Schwerpunktmodul zu sozialem Kapital werden diese Hypothesen anhand einer Fixed-Effects Panelregression getestet. Wird für alle zeitkonstanten so-wie für einschlägige zeitvariante Variablen kontrolliert, erweisen sich schwache Beziehungen, gemessen als aktive Mitgliedschaften in freiwilligen Vereinigungen, sowie der Umfang nicht unmittelbar auf die Stellensuche bezogener sozialer Ressourcen als bedeutsam für die Arbeitsmarktchancen. Der Beitrag endet mit einer Diskussion dieser Befunde. This paper examines whether the social networks of unemployed people have a positive impact on their re-employment chances. Hypotheses are derived from the literature, concerning different aspects of the network. We hypothesize that the more (strong and weak) social ties, the more em-ployed friends the unemployed have and the more resources there are in their network, the higher their chances for re-employment. We use data from the Panel Study “Labour Market and Social Security” (Panel “Arbeitsmarkt und soziale Sicherung”), where comprehensive information on the unemployed persons’ networks is available. We use fixed-effects regression to control for observed time-variant and unobserved time-invariant confounders. We find weak ties in the form of active memberships in voluntary organisations as well as network resources that are not directly related to job search to be significantly related to re-employment. The implications of this finding are discussed.

scholarly journals O3E.3 Changes in job security and mental health: an analysis of 14 annual waves of an australian working population panel survey

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A30.2-A30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony LaMontagne ◽  
Lan Say Too ◽  
Laura Punnett ◽  
Allison Milner
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Dose Response ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Job Security ◽  
Observational Research ◽  
Fe Model ◽  
Working Population

BackgroundThere is increasing recognition of job insecurity as an emerging issue in public health. We sought to examine whether job security improvements were associated with improvements in mental health in a large, working population-representative repeated-measures panel study.MethodsWe used both within-person fixed effects (FE) and random effects (RE) regression to analyse data from 14 annual waves of a national Australian survey (19 169 persons, 1 06 942 observations). Mental Health Inventory-5 scores (outcome) were modeled in relation to self-reported job security (categorical, quintiles), adjusting for age, year, education, and job change in the past year.ResultsBoth FE and RE models showed stepwise improvements in MHI-5 scores with improving job security, with stronger exposure-outcome relationships in the RE models, and for men compared to women. All models showed roughly monotonic improvements in MHI-5 score by quintile of improvement in job security. The strongest relationship was observed in the RE model for males: for a one-quintile improvement in job security, beta=2.06 [1.67, 2.46], and the following for two- (3.94 [3.54, 4.34]), three- (5.82 [5.40, 6.24]), and four- (7.18 [6.71, 7.64]) quintile improvements. The FE model for males produced slightly smaller coefficients, reaching a maximum of 5.55 [5.06, 6.05] for a four-quintile improvement.ConclusionsThis Australian national panel study showed a strong dose-response relationship between job security and depression and anxiety symptoms. Stronger causal inference over previous observational research is supported by the dose-response finding and the relative consistency of the FE and RE results. Policy and practice intervention to improve job security could benefit population health.

Changes in Job Security and Mental Health: An Analysis of 14 Annual Waves of an Australian Working-Population Panel Survey

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Daniel LaMontagne ◽  
Lay San Too ◽  
Laura Punnett ◽  
Allison Joy Milner
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Job Security ◽  
Observational Research ◽  
Fe Model ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Population Mental Health ◽  
Nationally Representative

Abstract We examined whether job security improvements were associated with improvements in mental health in a large, nationally representative panel study in Australia. We used both within-person fixed effects (FE) and random effects (RE) regression to analyze data from 14 annual waves covering the calendar period of 2002–2015 (19,169 persons; 106,942 observations). Mental Health Inventory–5 scores were modeled in relation to self-reported job security (categorical, quintiles), adjusting for age, year, education, and job change in the past year. Both FE and RE models showed stepwise improvements in Mental Health Inventory–5 scores with improving job security, with stronger exposure-outcome relationships in the RE models and for men compared with women. The RE coefficients for improvements in job security in men were 2.06 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.67, 2.46) for 1 quintile, steadily increasing for 2- (3.94 (95% CI: 3.54, 4.34)), 3- (5.82 (95% CI: 5.40, 6.24)), and 4-quintile (7.18 (95% CI: 6.71, 7.64)) improvements. The FE model for men produced slightly smaller coefficients, reaching a maximum of 5.55 (95% CI: 5.06, 6.05). This analysis, with improved causal inference over previous observational research, showed that improving job security is strongly associated with decreasing depression and anxiety symptoms. Policy and practice intervention to improve job security could benefit population mental health.

scholarly journals 1150Changes in job security and mental health over 14 waves of a working population survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony D. LaMontagne ◽  
Laura Punnett ◽  
Lay San Too
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Job Security ◽  
Cumulative Exposure ◽  
Observational Research ◽  
Fe Model ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Population Mental Health ◽  
Nationally Representative

Abstract Background & Methods We examined whether job security improvements were associated with improvements in mental health in a large Australian nationally representative panel study. We used both within-person fixed effects (FE) and random effects (RE) regression to analyse data from 14 annual waves covering calendar years 2002—2015 (19,169 persons, 106,942 observations). Mental Health Inventory-5 scores were modeled in relation to self-reported job security (categorical, quintiles), adjusting for age, year, education, and job change in the past year. Results Both FE and RE models showed stepwise improvements in MHI-5 scores with improving job security, with stronger exposure-outcome relationships in the RE models and for men compared to women. The RE coefficients for improvements in job security in males were 2.06 [1.67, 2.46] for one quintile, steadily increasing for two- (3.94 [3.54, 4.34]), three- (5.82 [5.40, 6.24]), and four- (7.18 [6.71, 7.64]) quintile improvements. The FE model for males produced slightly smaller coefficients, reaching a maximum of 5.55 [5.06, 6.05]. Supplementary analyses investigated whether six waves of cumulative exposure to job security (higher value = higher security) predicted MHI-5 score (improvement in mental health) in the seventh wave: results showed a strong dose-response (beta cumulative security was 0.60 [0.53-0.68]), with the difference between lowest and highest values of exposure corresponding to a 14-point increase in MHI-5 score. Conclusions These analyses, with improved causal inference over previous observational research, showed that improving job security is strongly associated with decreasing depression and anxiety symptoms. Key messages Policy and practice intervention to improve job security could benefit population mental health.

scholarly journals Does social capital affect wages? A panel data analysis of causal mechanisms

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Krug ◽  
Paul Schmelzer ◽  
Mark Trappmann
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Job Search ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Job Interviews ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Causal Mechanisms ◽  
Panel Data Regression

Many studies document the positive association between accessed social capital and wages. It is widely accepted that the underlying relationship is causal. However, most studies use cross-sectional data, and only a few test causal mechanisms. In our analysis, we first test a broad range of social capital indicators by applying fixed-effects panel data regression to a sample of currently employed and a sample of newly employed individuals. Second, we test reservation wages, network search, being offered a job without prior job search, and the number of job interviews as some of the theoretical mechanisms put forward to explain positive social capital effects. Overall, we find no empirical evidence for wage effects of the social capital measure and no evidence that any of the proposed mechanisms are empirically relevant.

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