Individual socioeconomic position, neighbourhood disadvantage and mental well-being: a cross-sectional multilevel analysis of mid-age adults.

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Mann, Emily M
Heesch, Kristiann C
Rachele, Jerome N
Burton, Nicola W
Turrell, Gavin
Griffith University Author(s)
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2022
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with mental illness, yet its relationship with mental well-being is unclear. Mental well-being is defined as feeling good and functioning well. Benefits of mental well-being include reduced mortality, improved immune functioning and pain tolerance, and increased physical function, pro-social behaviour, and academic and job performance. This study aims to explore the relationship between individual socioeconomic position (SEP), neighbourhood disadvantage and mental well-being in mid-age adults. METHODS: Multilevel modelling was used to analyse data collected from 7866 participants from the second (2009) wave of HABITAT (How Areas in Brisbane Influence healTh and activiTy), a longitudinal study (2007-2018) of adults aged 40-65 years living in Brisbane, Australia. Mental well-being was measured using the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS). Exposure measures were education, occupation, household income, and neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage. RESULTS: The lowest MWB scores were observed for the least educated (β = - 1.22, 95%CI = - 1.74, - 0.71), those permanently unable to work (β = - 5.50, 95%CI = - 6.90, - 4.10), the unemployed (β = - 2.62, 95%CI = - 4.12, - 1.13), and members of low-income households (β = - 3.77, 95%CI = - 4.59, - 2.94). Residents of the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods had lower MWB scores than those living in the least disadvantaged neighbourhoods, after adjustment for individual-level SEP (β = - 0.96, 95%CI = - 1.66, - 0.28). CONCLUSIONS: Both individual-level SEP and neighbourhood disadvantage are associated with mental well-being although the association is stronger for individual-level SEP. This research highlights the need to address individual and neighbourhood-level socioeconomic determinants of mental well-being.

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BMC Public Health

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22

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1

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NHMRC

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APP1047453

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© The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made.

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Psychology

Political economy and social change

Mental well-being

Multilevel analysis

Neighbourhood disadvantage

Socioeconomic inequality

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Mann, EM; Heesch, KC; Rachele, JN; Burton, NW; Turrell, G, Individual socioeconomic position, neighbourhood disadvantage and mental well-being: a cross-sectional multilevel analysis of mid-age adults., BMC Public Health, 2022, 22 (1), pp. 494-

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