Depression and economic status: evidence for non-linear patterns in women from Mexico

Anand, Paul, Esposito, Lucio and Villaseñor, Adrián (2018) Depression and economic status: evidence for non-linear patterns in women from Mexico. Journal of Mental Health, 27 (6). pp. 529-551. ISSN 0963-8237

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Abstract

Background: While social determinants of health perspective might lead to the hypothesis that higher economic achievements should be associated with better mental health, the evidence for adults is mixed and inconclusive. Aim: We test the role of wealth as a predictor of depressive symptoms controlling for a number of socio-demographic covariates, with a specific interest in gender-specific patterns. Methods: Using a nationally representative survey from Mexico (N = 44,618), we carry out multivariate regression analysis where we jointly model linear and quadratic measures of wealth to detect non-linear relations between depression and wealth. Results: The paper reports clear evidence of an inverted-U relationship between depressive symptoms and wealth for females, whereas the relationship for males tends to be linear and decreasing with wealth as expected (though weak and significant only in the upper part of the wealth distribution). Our findings are robust to alternative empirical strategies and we discuss potential explanations for this novel finding. Conclusion: The paper confirms that the association between standards of living and depression is complex, due to the mediating role of socio-demographic characteristics and the existence of non-linearities not fully explored in the literature.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	sdg 3 - good health and well-being ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/good_health_and_well_being
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Global Development (formerly School of International Development) Faculty of Science > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Literacy and Development Group Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Behavioural and Experimental Development Economics
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	18 Jun 2018 11:30
Last Modified:	18 Jun 2026 17:51
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/67383
DOI:	10.1080/09638237.2018.1521918

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