Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research - Research Publications
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ItemHousing affordability stress and mental health: The role of financial wellbeing(WILEY, 2024-01-01)Abstract Using data from wave 20 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, we provide a descriptive examination of the relationship between housing affordability stress (HAS) and a multi‐item measure of financial wellbeing across tenure types and test whether good financial wellbeing is protective of the negative mental health effects of HAS. We find that HAS is associated with lower financial wellbeing and that this is differentially distributed by tenure, with renters who experience HAS reporting, on average, lower financial wellbeing than owners. This suggests that HAS, which focuses on income to define housing stress, is different to financial wellbeing. Being in control of finances and feeling financially secure are important components of the way in which financial hardship impacts mental health. Renters may be more likely to experience these issues than owners; hence, they fare worse in terms of their mental health when in HAS than owners do.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableVulnerability and recovery: Long-term mental and physical health trajectories following climate-related disasters(PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2023-03)Extreme weather and climate-related disaster events are associated with a range of adverse health outcomes. People are not equally vulnerable to the adversity, experiencing varied patterns of long-term health trajectories in recovery depending on their vulnerabilities, capacities, and resiliencies. This study aims to identify latent mental and physical health trajectories and their associations with person- and place-based pre-disaster predictors. Using an Australian, population-based, longitudinal dataset spanning 2009-19, group-based multi-trajectory modelling was applied to identify the distinct mental, social, emotional, and physical health trajectories of people who had experienced damage to their home following a climate-related disaster event. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess a series of social vulnerability predictors (demographic, socioeconomic, housing, health, neighbourhood, and geographical) of health patterns. We identified three distinct health trajectories. Most individuals experienced small or minimal health impacts at the time of the disaster year followed by a fast recovery. However, one-fifth of the exposed population were severely affected during and post disaster. This cohort had the worst mental and physical health prior to the disaster and experienced the largest decreases in mental and physical health and the lowest recoveries. Pre-existing mental and physical conditions were the most substantial risk factors, increasing the probability of experiencing high impact and slow recovery by 61% for mental health and 51% for physical health. In addition, vulnerability in the form of housing affordability stress, lower household income, and lack of community attachment, participation and safety were also significant independent risk factors for ongoing post-disaster health problems. Critically, people's mental and physical health recovery is dependent on pre-disaster vulnerabilities in health, resource access, and capacities. These findings could assist policymakers and health practitioners to more effectively target people most at risk and design prevention and response strategies to prevent the exacerbation of poor health and wellbeing.