Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research - Research Publications

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    Generational differences in mental health trends in the twenty-first century
    Botha, F ; Morris, RW ; Butterworth, P ; Glozier, N (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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    News media representations of people receiving income support and the production of stigma power: An empirical analysis of reporting on two Australian welfare payments
    Martin, S ; Schofield, T ; Butterworth, P (SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2022-11)
    People receiving working-age income support payments are often stigmatised as morally and/or behaviourally deficient. We consider the role of the media, as a potential source of structural stigma, in perpetuating negative characterisations of people in receipt of either the Disability Support Pension (DSP) or unemployment benefits (Newstart) during a major period of welfare reform in Australia. Newspaper articles (N = 8290) that appeared in Australia’s five largest newspapers between 2001 and 2016, and referenced either payment were analysed. We found an increased use of fraud language associated with the DSP, which coincides with increased political and policy focus on this payment. We conclude that in a period of increasing political concern with welfare reform, media coverage of welfare recipients is a form of stigma power, acting discursively as symbolic violence.
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    Trajectories of psychological distress over multiple COVID-19 lockdowns in Australia
    Botha, F ; Morris, RW ; Butterworth, P ; Glozier, N (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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    Poor psychosocial job conditions increase sickness absence: evidence from the PATH Through Life Mid-Aged Cohort
    Leach, L ; Milner, A ; San Too, L ; Butterworth, P (BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP, 2022-09)
    OBJECTIVES: Evidence is mounting that poor psychosocial job conditions increase sickness absence, but there is a need for further rigorous prospective research to isolate the influence of psychosocial job quality from other measured and unmeasured confounders. This study used four waves of prospective longitudinal data (spanning 12 years) to investigate the extent to which increases in poor psychosocial job quality are associated with greater relative risk of day of sickness absence. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Data were from the Australian PATH Through Life cohort study. The analyses adopted hybrid-regression estimations that isolated the effect of within-person change in psychosocial job quality on sickness absence over time. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were from a midlife cohort aged 40-44 at baseline (7644 observations from 2221 participants). PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: Days sickness absence in the past 4 weeks. RESULTS: The results show that after adjusting for a wide range of factors as well as unmeasured between-person differences in job quality, each additional psychosocial job adversity was associated with a 12% increase in the number of days of sickness absence (relative risk ratio: 1.12, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.21). Increases in psychosocial job adversity were also related to greater functional impairment (relative risk ratio: 1.17 (1.05 to 1.30)). CONCLUSION: The results of this study strengthen existing research highlighting the importance of addressing poor psychosocial job quality as a risk factor for sickness absence.
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    Unencumbered and still unequal? Work hour-Health tipping points and gender inequality among older, employed Australian couples
    Doan, T ; LaBond, C ; Banwell, C ; Timmins, P ; Butterworth, P ; Strazdins, L (ELSEVIER SCI LTD, 2022-06)
    Could working into older age offer women an opportunity to 'catch up' their careers and redress their financial disadvantage in retirement? This is a period of relative 'unencumbrance' from childrearing, potentially freeing women's time for more paid work. Here, we examine whether women aged 50 to 70 are able to increase their workhours, and what happens to their mental health, vitality and wealth. We used a representative household-based panel of employed older Australians (the HILDA survey). The longitudinal bootstrapped 3SLS estimation technique adjusted for reciprocal relationships between wages, workhours, and health, modelled in the context of domestic work time. We found that, relative to their same-aged male counterparts, older women spent 10 h more each week on domestic work, and 9 h less on work that earned income. When women sought to add more paid hours on top of their unpaid hours, their mental health and vitality were impaired. Men were typically able to maintain their workhours and health advantage by spending fewer hours each week on domestic work. Unable to work longer without trading-off their health, and paid less per hour if they did so, our analysis questions whether working into older age offers women a road out of inequality and disadvantage.
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    The protective effects of wellbeing and flourishing on long-term mental health risk
    Burns, RA ; Windsor, T ; Butterworth, P ; Anstey, KJ (Elsevier BV, 2022-12-01)
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    Effect of lockdown on mental health in Australia: evidence from a natural experiment analysing a longitudinal probability sample survey
    Butterworth, P ; Schurer, S ; Trong-Anh, T ; Vera-Toscano, E ; Wooden, M (ELSEVIER SCI LTD, 2022-05)
    BACKGROUND: Many studies have examined population mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic but have been unable to isolate the direct effect of lockdowns. The aim of this study was to examine changes in the mental health of Australians aged 15 years and older during the COVID-19 pandemic using a quasi-experimental design to disentangle the lockdown effect. METHODS: We analysed data from ten annual waves (2011-20) of the longitudinal Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey to identify changes in the mental health of respondents from the pre-COVID-19 period (2011-19) to the COVID-19 period (2020). Difference-in-differences models were used to compare these changes between respondents in the state of Victoria who were exposed to lockdown at the time of the 2020 interviews (treatment group) and respondents living elsewhere in Australia (who were living relatively free of restrictions; control group). The models included state, year (survey wave), and person-specific fixed effects. Mental health was assessed using the five-item Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5), which was included in the self-complete questionnaire administered during the survey. FINDINGS: The analysis sample comprised 151 583 observations obtained from 20 839 individuals from 2011 to 2020. The treatment group included 3568 individuals with a total of 37 578 observations (34 010 in the pre-COVID-19 and 3568 in the COVID-19 period), and the control group included 17 271 individuals with 114 005 observations (102 867 in the pre-COVID-19 and 11 138 in the COVID-19 period). Mean MHI-5 scores did not differ between the treatment group (72·9 points [95% CI 72·8-73·2]) and control group (73·2 points [73·1-73·3]) in the pre-COVID-19 period. In the COVID-19 period, decreased mean scores were seen in both the treatment group (69·6 points [69·0-70·2]) and control group (70·8 points [70·5-71·2]). Difference-in-differences estimation showed a small but statistically significant effect of lockdown on MHI-5 scores, with greater decline for residents of Victoria in 2020 than for those in the rest of Australia (difference -1·4 points [95% CI -1·7 to -1·2]). Stratified analyses showed that this lockdown effect was larger for females (-2·2 points [-2·6 to -1·7]) than for males (-0·6 [-0·8 to -0·5]), and even larger for women in couples with children younger than 15 years (-4·4 points [-5·0 to -3·8]), and for females who lived in flats or apartments (-4·1 points [-5·4 to -2·8]) or semi-detached houses, terraced houses, or townhouses (-4·8 points [-6·4 to -3·2]). INTERPRETATION: The imposition of lockdowns was associated with a modest negative change in overall population mental health. The results suggest that the mental health effects of lockdowns differ by population subgroups and for some might have exaggerated existing inequalities in mental health. Although lockdowns have been an important public health tool in suppressing community transmission of COVID-19, more research is needed into the potential psychosocial impacts of such interventions to inform their future use. FUNDING: US National Institutes of Health.
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    Is the stereotype of welfare recipients associated with type of welfare state regime? A cross-national meta-regression of the stereotype content model
    Schofield, TP ; Suomi, A ; Butterworth, P (WILEY, 2022-04)
    Abstract The association of societal‐level structural factors with stereotypes and stigma can be examined using the stereotype content model (SCM). The main aim of the current study was to review and synthesize all available research data of SCM dimensions of Warmth and Competence perceptions of welfare recipients, and compare the ratings in different types of social welfare regimes (Nordic, Conservative, and Liberal). To do this, we reviewed all published literature using the SCM methodology to assess stereotypes of welfare recipients and perfomed a cross‐national meta‐regression of 17 datasets (total N = 1797) drawn from six countries representing three types of welfare regimes. In each of the studies, participants were asked how others in their country viewed welfare recipients on the dimensions of warmth and competence. We predicted and found support for the hypothesis that countries with a Nordic welfare regime have a warmer cultural stereotype of welfare recipients than countries with a Liberal or Conservative regime. However, the expected association between Liberal welfare regime and incompetence stereotypes was not found. Supplementary analyses showed that the type of welfare regime better explained country differences in welfare stereotypes than country differences in income inequality. This study demonstrates how stereotypes of warmth and competence vary across welfare regimes, adding to knowledge about how societal‐level factors are related to cultural stereotypes.
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    Evaluating How Mental Health Changed in Australia through the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings from the 'Taking the Pulse of the Nation' (TTPN) Survey
    Botha, F ; Butterworth, P ; Wilkins, R (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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    Bridging Classical and Revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory Research: A Longitudinal Analysis of a Large Population Study
    Espinoza Oyarce, DA ; Burns, R ; Butterworth, P ; Cherbuin, N (FRONTIERS MEDIA SA, 2021-12-20)
    The reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) proposes that neurobiological systems mediate protective and appetitive behaviours and the functioning of these systems is associated to personality traits. In this manner, the RST is a link between neuroscience, behaviour, and personality. The theory evolved to the present revised version describing three systems: fight-flight-freezing, behavioural approach/activation (BAS), and behavioural inhibition (BIS). However, the most widely available measure of the theory, the BIS/BAS scales, only investigates two systems. Using a large longitudinal community survey, we found that the BIS/BAS scales can be re-structured to investigate the three systems of the theory with a BIS scale, three BAS scales, and a separate fight-flight-freezing system (FFFS) scale. The re-structured scales were age, sex, and longitudinally invariant, and associations with personality and mental health measures followed theoretical expectations and previously published associations. The proposed framework can be used to investigate behavioural choices influencing physical and mental health and bridge historical with contemporary research.