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Employment status and perceived health condition: longitudinal data from Italy
TL;DR: Evidence is offered on the relationship between self-reported health and the employment status in Italy using the Survey on Household Income and Wealth (SHIW), which finds that temporary workers, first-job seekers and unemployed individuals are worse off than permanent employees.
Abstract: The considerable increase of non-standard labor contracts, unemployment and inactivity rates raises the question of whether job insecurity and the lack of job opportunities affect physical and mental well-being differently from being employed with an open-ended contract. In this paper we offer evidence on the relationship between Self Reported Health Status (SRHS) and the employment status in Italy using the Survey on Household Income and Wealth; another aim is to investigate whether these potential inequalities have changed with the recent economic downturn (time period 2006-2010). We estimate an ordered logit model with SRHS as response variable based on a fixed-effects approach which has certain advantages with respect to the random-effects formulation and has not been applied before with SRHS data. The fixed-effects nature of the model also allows us to solve the problems of incidental parameters and non-random selection of individuals into different labor market categories. We find that temporary workers, unemployed and inactive individuals are worse off than permanent employees, especially males, young workers, and those living in the center and south of Italy. Health inequalities between unemployed/inactive and permanent workers widen over time for males and young workers, and arise in the north of the country as well.
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TL;DR: It is concluded that periods of economic recession are possibly associated with a higher prevalence of mental health problems, including common mental disorders, substance disorders, and ultimately suicidal behaviour.
Abstract: Countries in recession experience high unemployment rates and a decline in living conditions, which, it has been suggested, negatively influences their populations’ health. The present review examines the recent evidence of the possible association between economic recessions and mental health outcomes. Literature review of records identified through Medline, PsycINFO, SciELO, and EBSCO Host. Only original research papers, published between 2004 and 2014, peer-reviewed, non-qualitative research, and reporting on associations between economic factors and proxies of mental health were considered. One-hundred-one papers met the inclusion criteria. The evidence was consistent that economic recessions and mediators such as unemployment, income decline, and unmanageable debts are significantly associated with poor mental wellbeing, increased rates of common mental disorders, substance-related disorders, and suicidal behaviours. On the basis of a thorough analysis of the selected investigations, we conclude that periods of economic recession are possibly associated with a higher prevalence of mental health problems, including common mental disorders, substance disorders, and ultimately suicidal behaviour. Most of the research is based on cross-sectional studies, which seriously limits causality inferences. Conclusions are summarised, taking into account international policy recommendations concerning the cost-effective measures that can possibly reduce the occurrence of negative mental health outcomes in populations during periods of economic recession.
386 citations
Cites background from "Employment status and perceived hea..."
...[29] National population sample, Italy Cohort 37,782 (2006–2010) 15–64 y Inter-time Variables Psychosocial/economic indicators Pre- and post- recession period Employment Status Psychological Well-being Self-rated health Temporary workers, first job seekers and unemployed individuals all perceive their health as being worse than permanent workers do....
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...viduals were amplified after the onset of the recession [29]....
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...tion [28, 29, 33, 39], although Icelandic and Swedish...
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TL;DR: There is evidence that young people are especially vulnerable to health problems when unemployed or working in precarious conditions, and active labour market and training programmes, inclusive social security measures, improved working conditions and targeted health programmes are important for addressing this vulnerability.
Abstract: Background: The impact of unemployment and precarious employment on the health of young people is not well understood. However, according to social causation, higher socio-economic positions and th...
101 citations
Cites background from "Employment status and perceived hea..."
...Lack of economic and social benefits [36, 42, 48, 67, 70, 79]...
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...[12, 35-79] in the actual review (see Figure 1)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors apply a dynamic panel data estimator (system GMM) to account for both unobserved confounders and reverse causality, and find strong support for the causality thesis.
47 citations
TL;DR: Race by gender heterogeneity in the residual effect of restless sleep over depressive symptoms on CMC over 25 years suggests that comorbid poor sleep and depressive symptoms differently contribute to development of multi-morbidity among subpopulations based on the intersection of race and gender.
Abstract: Sleep and depression are comorbid problems that contribute to the development of chronic medical conditions (CMC) over time. Although racial and gender differences in the bidirectional associations between sleep, depression, and CMC are known, very limited information exists on heterogeneity of the residual effects of sleep problems over depressive symptoms on CMC across race by gender groups. Using a life-course perspective, the present study compared race by gender groups for residual effects of restless sleep over depressive symptoms on CMC. We used data from waves 1 (year 1986), 4 (year 2001), and 5 (year 2011) of the Americans’ Changing Lives Study (ACL). The study followed 294 White men, 108 Black men, 490 White women, and 237 Black women for 25 years. Restless sleep, depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale [CES-D]), and number of chronic medical conditions (hypertension, diabetes, chronic lung disease, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and arthritis) were measured in 1986, 2001, and 2011. We employed multi-group cross-lagged modeling, with chronic medical conditions as the outcome and race by gender as the groups. Major group differences were found in the residual effect of restless sleep on CMC over depressive symptoms across race by gender groups. Restless sleep in 2001 predicted CMC 10 years later in 2011 among Black women (standardized adjusted B = .135, P .05). Race by gender heterogeneity in the residual effect of restless sleep over depressive symptoms on CMC over 25 years suggests that comorbid poor sleep and depressive symptoms differently contribute to development of multi-morbidity among subpopulations based on the intersection of race and gender. Thus, interventions that try to prevent comorbid sleep problems and depression as a strategy to prevent medical conditions may benefit from tailoring based on the intersection of race and gender.
46 citations
TL;DR: Mental health was generally poorer in both male and female employees as a result of precarious employment, and males were also at higher risk of mortality.
Abstract: Aim:Precarious employment is known to be detrimental to health, and some population subgroups (young individuals, migrant workers, and females) are at higher risk of precarious employment. However,...
33 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse the effect of unemployment on health using information from the German Socio-economic Panel of the years 1991-2008 and find that although unemployment is negatively correlated with health, they do not find a negative effect of plant closure due to plant closure on health across several health measures (health satisfaction, mental health, and hospital visits).
267 citations
"Employment status and perceived hea..." refers background in this paper
...Our FE model shows a positive relationship between local unemployment and self-reported health, a result that has been found for some European countries as well Strandh et al. (2011): being a temporary worker, unemployed or not employed is less stigmatizing in contexts where unemployment is common....
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TL;DR: A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that assessed duration of unemployment as a risk factor for suicide suggest that long-term unemployment is associated with greater incidence of suicide.
Abstract: Purpose There have been a number of reviews on the association+ between unemployment and suicide, but none have investigated how this relationship is influenced by duration of unemployment. Method A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted of those studies that assessed duration of unemployment as a risk factor for suicide. Studies considered as eligible for inclusion were population-based cohort or case-control designs; population-based ecological designs, or hospital based clinical cohort or case-control designs published in the year 1980 or later. Results The review identified 16 eligible studies, out of a possible 10,358 articles resulting from a search of four databases: PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Scopus and Proquest. While all 16 studies measured unemployment duration in different ways, a common finding was that longer duration of unemployment was related to greater risk of suicide and suicide attempt. A random effects meta-analysis on a subsample of six cohort studies indicated that the pooled relative risk of suicide in relation to average follow-up time after unemployment was 1.70 (95% CI 1.22 to 2.18). However, results also suggested a possible habituation effect to unemployment over time, with the greatest risk of suicide occurring within five years of unemployment compared to the employed population (RR = 2.50, 95% CI 1.83 to 3.17). Relative risk appeared to decline in studies of those unemployed between 12 and 16 years compared to those currently employed (RR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.33). Conclusion Findings suggest that long-term unemployment is associated with greater incidence of suicide. Results of the meta-analysis suggest that risk is greatest in the first five years, and persists at a lower but elevated level up to 16 years after unemployment. These findings are limited by the paucity of data on this topic.
253 citations
"Employment status and perceived hea..." refers background in this paper
...Keywords: Self-reported health status, Employment status, Economic crisis, Fixed-effects ordered logit model...
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TL;DR: Usage was correlated with parental/carer perceptions of playground features but not with physical activity levels, and renovation has limited the potential to increase physical activity until factors influencing usage and physical activity behavior are better understood.
Abstract: Outdoor recreational spaces have the potential to increase physical activity. This study used a quasi-experimental evaluation design to determine how a playground renovation impacts usage and physical activity of children and whether the visitations correlate with children's physical activity levels and parental impressions of the playground. Observational data and intercept interviews were collected simultaneously on park use and park-based activity among playground visitors at pre- and postrenovation at an intervention and a comparison park during three 2-hour periods each day over two weeks. No detectable difference in use between parks was observed at followup. In the intervention park, attendance increased among boys, but decreased among girls although this (nonsignificant) decline was less marked than in the comparison park. Following renovation, there was no detectable difference between parks in the number of children engaged in MVPA (interaction between park and time: P = 0.73). At the intervention park, there was a significant decline in girls engaging in MVPA at followup (P = 0.04). Usage was correlated with parental/carer perceptions of playground features but not with physical activity levels. Renovations have limited the potential to increase physical activity until factors influencing usage and physical activity behavior are better understood.
190 citations
TL;DR: It is revealed that welfare regimes may be an important determinant of employment-related health, and Scandinavian welfare states in particular report better or equal health status when compared to their permanent counterparts.
180 citations
"Employment status and perceived hea..." refers background in this paper
...In addition, precarious work in Bismarckian, Southern European, Anglo-Saxon, Eastern European, and East Asian countries is found to be associated with adverse physical health outcomes, such as musculoskeletal disorders and injuries [22]....
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TL;DR: Evidence is provided in support of the psychometric properties of EPRES, which appears to be a promising tool for the measurement of employment precariousness in public health research.
Abstract: Background: Despite the fact that labour market flexibility has resulted in an expansion of precarious employment in industrialized countries, to date there is limited empirical evidence about its health consequences. The Employment Precariousness Scale (EPRES) is a newly developed, theory-based, multidimensional questionnaire specifically devised for epidemiological studies among waged and salaried workers. Objective: To assess acceptability, reliability and construct validity of EPRES in a sample of waged and salaried workers in Spain. Methods: Cross-sectional study, using a sub-sample of 6.968 temporary and permanent workers from a population-based survey carried out in 2004-2005. The survey questionnaire was interviewer administered and included the six EPRES subscales, measures of the psychosocial work environment (COPSOQ ISTAS21), and perceived general and mental health (SF-36). Results: A high response rate to all EPRES items indicated good acceptability; Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, over 0.70 for all subscales and the global score, demonstrated good internal consistency reliability; exploratory factor analysis using principal axis analysis and varimax rotation confirmed the six-subscale structure and the theoretical allocation of all items. Patterns across known groups and correlation coefficients with psychosocial work environment measures and perceived health demonstrated the expected relations, providing evidence of construct validity. Conclusions: Our results provide evidence in support of the psychometric properties of EPRES, which appears to be a promising tool for the measurement of employment precariousness in public health research.
174 citations