How financial hardship is associated with the onset of mental health problems over time.

Purpose: Poor mental health has been consistently linked with the experience of financial hardship and poverty. However, the temporal association between these factors must be clarified before hardship alleviation can be considered as an effective mental health promotion and prevention strategy. We examined whether the longitudinal associations between financial hardship and mental health problems are best explained by an individual's current or prior experience of hardship, or their underlying vulnerability.

New fatherhood and psychological distress: a longitudinal study of Australian men.

Despite growing interest and concern about men's mental health during the perinatal period, we still do not know whether men are more vulnerable to mental health problems during this time. The current study is one of the first to use longitudinal, population-based data to investigate whether becoming an expectant and/or new father is associated with increases in psychological distress. We analyzed 10 waves of data collected annually (from 2001 to 2010) from the nationally representative Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey.

Mental health affects future employment as job loss affects mental health: findings from a longitudinal population study.

Background: Workforce participation is a key feature of public mental health and social inclusion policies across the globe, and often a therapeutic goal in treatment settings. Understanding the reciprocal relationship between participation and mental health has been limited by inadequate research methods. This is the first study to simultaneously examine and contrast the relative effects of unemployment on mental health and mental health on employment status in a single general population sample.

Socioeconomic differences in antidepressant use in the PATH Through Life Study: evidence of health inequalities, prescribing bias, or an effective social safety net?

Background: Depression is more common amongst those who are economically disadvantaged. However there is inconsistent evidence concerning the relationship between socioeconomic position and antidepressant use. Moreover, evidence of greater antidepressant use amongst those of lower socioeconomic position may reflect their greater psychiatric morbidity, a prescribing bias towards pharmacological treatments, or provide evidence of an effective social safety net.

Relationship quality and levels of depression and anxiety in a large population-based survey.

Purpose: There is substantial literature suggesting that the mental health benefits of marriage (compared to being single) are greater for those in 'good-quality' relationships in comparison to those in 'poor-quality' relationships. However, little of this research utilises large population-based surveys. Large surveys in psychiatric epidemiology have focused almost exclusively on the association between marital status and mental health.

The role of hardship in the association between socio-economic position and depression.

Objective: It is well established that socio-economic position is associated with depression. The experience of financial hardship, having to go without the essentials of daily living due to limited financial resources, may explain the effect. However, there are few studies examining the link between financial hardship and diagnosable depression at a population level.

Personal factors influence use of cervical cancer screening services: epidemiological survey and linked administrative data address the limitations of previous research.

Background: National screening programs have reduced cervical cancer mortality; however participation in these programs varies according to women's personal and social characteristics. Research into these inequalities has been limited by reliance on self-reported service use data that is potentially biased, or administrative data that lacks personal detail. We address these limitations and extend existing research by examining rates and correlates of cervical screening in a large epidemiological survey with linked administrative data.

Psychosocial job adversity and health in Australia: analysis of data from the HILDA Survey.

Objective: This study examines measures of psychosocial job quality developed from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, and reports on associations with physical and mental health.

Methods: The study used seven waves of data from the HILDA Survey with 5,548 employed respondents. Longitudinal random-intercept regression models assessed the association of time-varying and between-person measures of psychosocial job quality job adversity with physical and mental health.

Is poor mental health a risk factor for retirement? Findings from a longitudinal population survey.

Purpose: Poor mental health may influence people's decisions about, and ability to, keep working into later adulthood. The identification of factors that drive retirement provides valuable information for policymakers attempting to mitigate the effects of population ageing. This study examined whether mental health predicts subsequent retirement in a general population sample, and whether this association varied with the timing of retirement.

Community participation and mental health during retirement in community sample of Australians.

Objectives: This study considered whether community participation during later adulthood is more strongly associated with mental health during retirement than it is while in employment; i.e. in the absence of paid work.

The limitations of employment as a tool for social inclusion.

Background: One important component of social inclusion is the improvement of well-being through encouraging participation in employment and work life. However, the ways that employment contributes to wellbeing are complex. This study investigates how poor health status might act as a barrier to gaining good quality work, and how good quality work is an important pre-requisite for positive health outcomes.

Prevalence of self-management versus formal service use for common mental disorders in Australia: findings from the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Objective: To determine the proportion of Australian adults who use non-practitioner led support services and self-management strategies for common mental disorders.

Method: Data were drawn from the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, a representative survey of 8841 Australian adults aged 16 to 85 years. This survey included the Composite International Diagnostic Instrument to obtain diagnosis of International Classification of Diseases (Version 10; ICD-10) mental disorders.