Abstract
BackgroundTo assess the association of socioeconomic position (SEP), measured by family financial situation and housing tenure in childhood and adulthood, with mental health conditions in adulthood.MethodsRepresentative cross-sectional population data were collected using a risk factor surveillance system in South Australia, Australia. Each month, a random sample were selected from the Electronic White Pages. Participants aged 25 years and above (n = 10429) were asked about doctor diagnosed anxiety, stress or depression, suicidal ideation, psychological distress, demographic and socioeconomic factors using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI). Social mobility measures were derived from housing status and perceived financial situation during adulthood and at 10 years of age.ResultsThe prevalence of psychological distress was 8.1 %, current diagnosed mental health condition was 14.8 % and suicidal ideation was 4.3 %. Upward mobility in family financial situation and housing tenure was experienced by 28.6 % and 19.3 %, of respondents respectively. Downward mobility was experienced by 9.4 % for housing tenure and 11.3 % for family financial situation. In the multivariable analysis, after adjusting for age, sex, childhood family structure and adult education, downward social mobility and stable low SEP (both childhood and adulthood), in terms of both housing tenure and financial situation, were positively associated with all three mental health conditions.ConclusionPeople with low SEP in adulthood had poor mental health outcomes regardless of their socioeconomic circumstances in childhood. Policies to improve SEP have the potential to reduce mental health conditions in the population.
Highlights
To assess the association of socioeconomic position (SEP), measured by family financial situation and housing tenure in childhood and adulthood, with mental health conditions in adulthood
This paper aims to examine the association of three measure of mental health illness among people who were socially mobile between childhood and adulthood, with retrospectively recalled information about childhood family financial situation and housing tenure
Downward mobility was experienced by 11.3 % and 9.4 % for family financial situation and housing tenure, respectively
Summary
To assess the association of socioeconomic position (SEP), measured by family financial situation and housing tenure in childhood and adulthood, with mental health conditions in adulthood. Mental health disorders are a leading cause of disability burden in Australia, accounting for an estimated 24 % of the total years lost due to disability [3]. Crosssectional studies in Australia have shown that current socioeconomic circumstances (low educational attainment, low household income, unemployed or unable to work) are associated with poor mental health [2, 6] but they do not include childhood social or economic circumstances measures that may influence adult mental illness. Life course approaches are being used to explain the development of poor mental illness in adulthood by examining the “long term effects on later health or disease risk of physical or social exposures during gestation, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood and later adult life” [7]. There are studies that have found no relationship between childhood SEP and poor mental health in adulthood when SEP in adulthood is taken into account [12, 13] but other studies have found associations with childhood SEP [11, 14, 15]
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