Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research - Research Publications
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ItemGenerational differences in mental health trends in the twenty-first century(National Academy of Sciences, 2023-12-05)Given the observed deterioration in mental health among Australians over the past decade, this study investigates to what extent this differs in people born in different decades-i.e., possible birth cohort differences in the mental health of Australians. Using 20 y of data from a large, nationally representative panel survey (N = 27,572), we find strong evidence that cohort effects are driving the increase in population-level mental ill-health. Deteriorating mental health is particularly pronounced among people born in the 1990s and seen to a lesser extent among the 1980s cohort. There is little evidence that mental health is worsening with age for people born prior to the 1980s. The findings from this study highlight that it is the poorer mental health of Millennials that is driving the apparent deterioration in population-level mental health. Understanding the context and changes in society that have differentially affected younger people may inform efforts to ameliorate this trend and prevent it continuing for emerging cohorts.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableFor worse? Financial hardships and intra-household resource allocation among Australian couples(Elsevier, 2023-02-01)This article investigates differences in husbands' and wives' experiences of financial hardships. It develops and estimates a structural collective household model of expenditures on individual-specific necessities and hardship reporting where each partner has distinct preferences and the household makes Pareto efficient decisions. Using data from the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey with unique questions on individual financial hardships, we examine whether differences in preferences, bargaining power, or other characteristics within households affect the distribution of hardships. Wives in our data report more financial hardships than husbands. Estimates from our structural model indicate that wives have weaker preferences than husbands for expenditures on necessary goods for themselves, but there is no evidence of differences in bargaining power. Estimates further indicate that hardships increase with the number of children and spouses' disability status and decrease with spouses’ ages and subjective financial capabilities.
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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.
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ItemTrajectories of psychological distress over multiple COVID-19 lockdowns in Australia(Elsevier, 2023-03-01)The impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, including the indirect effect of policy responses, on psychological distress has been the subject of much research. However, there has been little consideration of how the prevalence of psychological distress changed with the duration and repetition of lockdowns, or the rate of resolution of psychological distress once lockdowns ended. This study describes the trajectories of psychological distress over multiple lockdowns during the first two years of the pandemic across five Australian states for the period May 2020 to December 2021 and examines whether psychological distress trajectories varied as a function of time spent in lockdown, or time since lockdown ended. A total of N = 574,306 Australian adults completed Facebook surveys over 611 days (on average 940 participants per day). Trajectories of psychological distress (depression and anxiety) were regressed on lockdown duration and time since lockdown ended. Random effects reflecting the duration of each lockdown were included to account for varying effects on psychological distress associated with lockdown length. The prevalence of psychological distress was higher during periods of lockdown, more so for longer lockdowns relative to shorter lockdowns. Psychological distress increased rapidly over the first ten weeks of lockdowns spanning at least twelve weeks, though less rapidly for short lockdowns of three weeks or less. Psychological distress levels tended to stabilise, or even decrease, after ten consecutive weeks of lockdown. After lockdown restrictions were lifted, psychological distress rapidly subsided but did not return to pre-lockdown levels within four weeks, although continued to decline afterwards. In Australia short lockdowns of pre-announced durations were associated with slower rises in psychological distress. Lockdowns may have left some temporary residual population effect, but we cannot discern whether this reflects longer term trends in increasing psychological distress. However, the findings do re-emphasise the resilience of individuals to major life stressors.
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ItemGenerational Differences in Subjective Well-Being in Australia(SPRINGER, 2022-10)Abstract We test for differences in subjective well-being across four pre-defined generations in Australia born between 1928 and 1994: The Lucky Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. We focus on overall life satisfaction and range of domain satisfactions. We find that Baby Boomers are less satisfied with life than thosce born before and after them. We observe similar patterns when considering domains such as finances and housing. However, differences in satisfaction with employment opportunities show the opposite pattern, with Baby Boomers and Generation X’s reporting higher satisfaction as compared to the Lucky Generation and especially those from Generation Y. Family and labour marketcv status have greater effects than cohort of birth on many of the domains studied; however, the cohort effects are significant and non-negligible, particularly concerning satisfaction with life, employment opportunities, and housing.
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ItemIntermarriage on Subjective Social Status and Spousal Dissimilarity in Life Satisfaction of Co-resident Heterosexual South African Couples(SPRINGER, 2022-08)Abstract The aim of this study is to determine how intermarriage on subjective social status is associated with spousal dissimilarity in life satisfaction in co-resident heterosexual couples in South Africa. We apply fixed effect ordered logit regression models to a sample of 8652 married and cohabiting dyads constructed from the longitudinal and nationally representative South African National Income Dynamics Study. We find no spousal dissimilarity in overall life satisfaction under pure homogamy. In wife advantaged and currently hypogamic relationships females are more satisfied with life than their male partners, whereas the opposite is observed in husband advantaged and currently hypergamic relationships as well as in wife exchanges. Intermarriage on subjective social status may put marriages and relationships at risk of dissolution due to its association with spousal dissimilarity in overall life satisfaction. Further research is required to present a more complete and integrated account of how spousal dissimilarity in subjective well-being may mediate the impact of intermarriage on the dissolution of unions and relationships.
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ItemEvaluating How Mental Health Changed in Australia through the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings from the 'Taking the Pulse of the Nation' (TTPN) Survey(MDPI, 2022-01)The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on mental health at the level of the population. The current study adds to the evidence base by examining how the prevalence of psychological distress changed in Australia during the pandemic. The study also assesses the psychometric properties of a new single-item measure of mental distress included in a survey program conducted regularly throughout the pandemic. Data are from 1158 respondents in wave 13 (early July 2020) of the nationally representative Taking the Pulse of the Nation (TTPN) Survey. The questionnaire included the six-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) and a new single-item measure of distress. Results show a significant increase in the prevalence of psychological distress in Australia, from 6.3% pre-pandemic to 17.7% in early July 2020 (unadjusted odds ratio = 3.19; 95% CI (confidence interval) = 2.51 to 4.05). The new single-item measure of distress is highly correlated with the K6. This study provides a snapshot at one point in time about how mental health worsened in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, by demonstrating the accuracy of the new single-item measure of distress, this analysis also provides a basis for further research examining the trajectories and correlates of distress in Australia across the pandemic.
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ItemOpposite nonlinear effects of unemployment and sentiment on male and female suicide rates: Evidence from Australia(PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2022-01)We investigate gender differences in the effects of unemployment and sentiment on suicide rates. Using monthly Australian data, we find a positive relationship between the unemployment rate and the suicide rate, and a negative relationship between consumer sentiment and the suicide rate. However, there is strong evidence of nonlinearity in the effects of both unemployment and sentiment on suicide rates, with substantial gender differences. For men, an increase in the unemployment rate increases the suicide rate, but an unemployment decrease has no effect; we find the opposite for women. For men, an increase in sentiment has stronger effects on the suicide rate than a decrease in sentiment. Again, we observe the opposite effect for women. Among sentiment components, forward-looking expectations are stronger predictors of suicide rates than present conditions. Sentiment has a much stronger effect on male suicide rates than on female suicide rates.
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ItemFuture Directions: Study Protocol for an Effectiveness-Implementation Hybrid Evaluation of a State-based Social Housing Strategy and Three Social Housing Programs(Edinburgh University Library, 2021)Background: In the Australian state of New South Wales nearly 60,000 approved applicants are waiting for social housing. Future Directions for Social Housing is a response to this challenge. This collection of housing programs aims to provide more social housing, support and incentives for leaving social housing and a better social housing experience. This document presents the protocol of the evaluation of these programs and the overarching Future Directions Strategy. Methods/Design: The evaluation will use a Type 1 effectiveness-implementation hybrid design, with an integrated, dual focus on assessing the effectiveness of Future Directions and better understanding the context for reform implementation. Program effectiveness will be examined using quasi-experimental techniques applied to linked administrative data. The implementation context will be examined via program level data, qualitative interviews and focus groups with stakeholders and tenants. Some quantitative survey and administrative data will also be used. Findings from the implementation evaluation will be used to inform and interpret the effectiveness evaluation. Economic evaluations will also be conducted. Discussion: This methodology will produce a high-quality evaluation of a large, complex government program which aims to facilitate rapid translational gains, real-time adoption of effective implementation strategies and generate actionable insights for policymaker
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ItemProposal of a short form self-reported financial wellbeing scale for inclusion in the 2026 Census(Australian Population Studies, 2021-05-30)No abstract