Childhood family wealth and mental health in a national cohort of young adults

Autor: Allison B. Brenner, Félice Lê-Scherban, Robert F. Schoeni
Rok vydání: 2016
Předmět:
Gerontology
Multigenerational
Health (social science)
TAS
Transition into Adulthood Study
Article
CDI
Children's Depression Inventory
CDS
Child Development Supplement
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
GEE
generalized estimating equation
medicine
030212 general & internal medicine
lcsh:Social sciences (General)
LOESS
locally weighted scatterplot smoothing
Young adult
Socioeconomic status
USA
Wealth
US
United States of America
lcsh:Public aspects of medicine
Health Policy
1. No poverty
Public Health
Environmental and Occupational Health
SES
socioeconomic status
lcsh:RA1-1270
Life course
DALY
disability-adjusted life-year
PSID
Panel Study of Income Dynamics
Mental illness
medicine.disease
Mental health
Health equity
030227 psychiatry
3. Good health
Panel Study of Income Dynamics
8. Economic growth
Life course approach
Household income
lcsh:H1-99
Health disparities
Psychology
Young adults
Zdroj: SSM-Population Health
SSM: Population Health, Vol 2, Iss, Pp 798-806 (2016)
ISSN: 2352-8273
DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2016.10.008
Popis: Purpose Mental health is critical to young adult health, as the onset of 75% of psychiatric disorders occurs by age 24 and psychiatric disorders early in life predict later behavioral health problems. Wealth may serve as a buffer against economic stressors. Family wealth may be particularly relevant for young adults by providing them with economic resources as they make educational decisions and move towards financial and social independence. Methods We used prospectively collected data from 2060 young adults aged 18–27 in 2005–2011 from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a national cohort of US families. We examined associations between nonspecific psychological distress (measured with the K-6 scale) and childhood average household wealth during ages 0–18 years (net worth in 2010 dollars). Results In demographics-adjusted generalized estimating equation models, higher childhood wealth percentile was related to a lower prevalence of serious psychological distress: compared to lowest-quartile wealth, prevalence ratio (PR)=0.52 (0.32–0.85) for 3rd quartile and PR=0.41 (0.24–0.68) for 4th quartile. The associations were attenuated slightly by adjustment for parent education and more so by adjustment for childhood household income percentile. Conclusions Understanding the lifelong processes through which distinct aspects of socioeconomic status affect mental health can help us identify high-risk populations and take steps to minimize future disparities in mental illness.
Highlights • Less is known about wealth effects on health compared to other socioeconomic indicators. • Family wealth may help protect young adults’ mental health. • Greater family wealth was associated with better mental health among young adults.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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