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Income and psychological distress: the role of the social environment
Heather M Orpana1, Louise Lemyre, Ronald Gravel
1Health Information and Research Division, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. Heather.Orpana@statcan.gc.ca
Background:
This article examines the relationship between lower income and the risk of experiencing high psychological distress over twelve years.
Data And Methods:
Data from the first 12 years of the longitudinal National Population Health Survey (1994/1995 through 2006/2007) were analysed. Proportional hazards modelling was conducted to determine whether lower household income was associated with a greater risk of experiencing high distress, when adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and baseline health status. It was also used to examine the relationship between reporting a stressor and experiencing a subsequent episode of distress.
Results:
Overall, 11% of the initial sample experienced at least one episode of high distress during the 12 years of the study. Low-income respondents were at a significantly higher risk of becoming psychologically distressed, and many of the stressors were associated with a significantly higher risk of becoming distressed. Stressors accounted for 22% of the relationship between low income and distress for men, and more than a third of this relationship for women.
Interpretation:
Low income is an important risk factor for becoming psychologically distressed, and stressors account for part of this increased risk.
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