Structural characteristics of the macroeconomy and mental health: implications for primary prevention research

Recent research on the impact of economics on mental and physical health has raised fundamental questions about structural elements in the macro-economy. Specifically, five characteristics of our current economic system: instability in the business cycle, unemployment, inequality in income distribution, capital mobility, and fragmentation of the work process, appear to play some pathogenic role in the incidence of behavioral and physical disorders. These macroeconomic elements require intervention at the social policy level since they seem to be more powerful than the individual coping mechanisms of some demographic subgroups. Psychologists can play an important role in policy decisions by providing data on the relative impact of structural economic variables on human functioning. Examples of structural research are presented and the implications for primary prevention are discussed.