Timo-Kolja Pfoertner1, Katharina Rathmann2, Frank J Elgar3, Margaretha de Looze4, Felix Hofmann5, Veronika Ottova-Jordan6, Ulrike Ravens-Sieberer6, Lucia Bosakova7, Candace Currie8, Matthias Richter2. 1. 1 Institute of Medical Sociology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany timo-kolja.pfoertner@medizin.uni-halle.de. 2. 1 Institute of Medical Sociology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany. 3. 2 Institute for Health and Social Policy and Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 4. 3 Department of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. 5. 4 Ludwig Boltzmann Institute - Health Promotion Research, Vienna, Austria. 6. 5 Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Research Unit Child Public Health, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany. 7. 6 Department of Health Psychology, Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Pavol Jozef Safarik University Kosice, Kosice, Slovakia 7 Department of Business Informatics and Mathematics, Faculty of Business Economy, University of Economics in Bratislava, Kosice, Slovakia. 8. 8 Child and Adolescent Health Research Unit, School of Medicine, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The recent economic recession, which began in 2007, has had a detrimental effect on the health of the adult population, but no study yet has investigated the impact of this downturn on adolescent health. This article uniquely examines the effect of the crisis on adolescents' psychological health complaints in a cross-national comparison. METHODS: Data came from the World Health Organization collaborative 'Health Behaviour in School-aged Children' study in 2005-06 and 2009-10. We measured change in psychological health complaints from before to during the recession in the context of changing adult and adolescent unemployment rates. Furthermore, we used logistic multilevel regression to model the impact of absolute unemployment in 2010 and its change rate between 2005-06 and 2009-10 on adolescents' psychological health complaints in 2010. RESULTS: Descriptive results showed that although youth and adult unemployment has increased during the economic crisis, rates of psychological health complaints among adolescents were unaffected in some countries and even decreased in others. Multilevel regression models support this finding and reveal that only youth unemployment in 2010 increased the likelihood of psychological health complaints, whereas its change rate in light of the recession as well as adult unemployment did not relate to levels of psychological health complaints. CONCLUSION: In contrast to recent findings, our study indicates that the negative shift of the recent recession on the employment market in several countries has not affected adolescents' psychological health complaints. Adolescents' well-being instead seems to be influenced by the current situation on the labour market that shapes their occupational outlook.
BACKGROUND: The recent economic recession, which began in 2007, has had a detrimental effect on the health of the adult population, but no study yet has investigated the impact of this downturn on adolescent health. This article uniquely examines the effect of the crisis on adolescents' psychological health complaints in a cross-national comparison. METHODS: Data came from the World Health Organization collaborative 'Health Behaviour in School-aged Children' study in 2005-06 and 2009-10. We measured change in psychological health complaints from before to during the recession in the context of changing adult and adolescent unemployment rates. Furthermore, we used logistic multilevel regression to model the impact of absolute unemployment in 2010 and its change rate between 2005-06 and 2009-10 on adolescents' psychological health complaints in 2010. RESULTS: Descriptive results showed that although youth and adult unemployment has increased during the economic crisis, rates of psychological health complaints among adolescents were unaffected in some countries and even decreased in others. Multilevel regression models support this finding and reveal that only youth unemployment in 2010 increased the likelihood of psychological health complaints, whereas its change rate in light of the recession as well as adult unemployment did not relate to levels of psychological health complaints. CONCLUSION: In contrast to recent findings, our study indicates that the negative shift of the recent recession on the employment market in several countries has not affected adolescents' psychological health complaints. Adolescents' well-being instead seems to be influenced by the current situation on the labour market that shapes their occupational outlook.
Authors: Katharina Rathmann; Timo-Kolja Pförtner; Klaus Hurrelmann; Ana M Osorio; Lucia Bosakova; Frank J Elgar; Matthias Richter Journal: Int J Public Health Date: 2016-08-08 Impact factor: 3.380
Authors: Lucia Bosakova; Andrea Madarasova Geckova; Carme Borrell; Zuzana Hajduova; Jitse P van Dijk; Sijmen A Reijneveld Journal: Int J Public Health Date: 2019-10-05 Impact factor: 3.380
Authors: Katharina Rathmann; Timo-Kolja Pförtner; Ana M Osorio; Klaus Hurrelmann; Frank J Elgar; Lucia Bosakova; Matthias Richter Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2016-08-24 Impact factor: 3.295
Authors: Diana Frasquilho; Margarida Gaspar Matos; Ferdinand Salonna; Diogo Guerreiro; Cláudia C Storti; Tânia Gaspar; José M Caldas-de-Almeida Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2016-02-03 Impact factor: 3.295