Eva Padrosa1,2,3, Christophe Vanroelen4,5, Carles Muntaner6,7, Joan Benach4,8,9, Mireia Julià10,4,8. 1. ESIMar (Mar Nursing School), Parc de Salut Mar, Universitat Pompeu Fabra-Affiliated, Mar Campus, 08003, Barcelona, Spain. epadrosas@esimar.edu.es. 2. SDHEd (Social Determinants and Health Education Research Group), IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain. epadrosas@esimar.edu.es. 3. Research Group On Health Inequalities, Environment, and Employment Conditions Network (GREDS-EMCONET), Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain. epadrosas@esimar.edu.es. 4. SDHEd (Social Determinants and Health Education Research Group), IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain. 5. Interface Demography (ID), Department of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Barcelona, Spain. 6. Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. 7. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. 8. Research Group On Health Inequalities, Environment, and Employment Conditions Network (GREDS-EMCONET), Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain. 9. Transdisciplinary Research Group On Socioecological Transitions (GinTrans2), Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. 10. ESIMar (Mar Nursing School), Parc de Salut Mar, Universitat Pompeu Fabra-Affiliated, Mar Campus, 08003, Barcelona, Spain.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article was to examine the relationship between precarious employment (PE), welfare states (WS) and mental health in Europe from a gender perspective. METHODS: Data were derived from the European Working Conditions Survey 2015. PE was measured through the Employment Precariousness Scale for Europe (EPRES-E), validated for comparative research in 22 European countries, and categorized into quartiles. Countries were classified into Continental, Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian, Southern and Central-Eastern WS. Mental health was assessed through the WHO-5 Well-Being Index and dichotomized into poor and good mental health. In a sample of 22,555 formal employees, we performed gender-stratified multi-level logistic regression models. RESULTS: Results showed greater prevalences of PE and poor mental health among women. However, the association between them was stronger among men. Cross-country differences were observed in multi-level regressions, but the interaction effect of WS was only significant among women. More precisely, Central-Eastern WS enhanced the likelihood of poor mental health among women in high precarious employment situations (quartiles 3 and 4). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest the interaction between contextual and individual factors in the production of mental health inequalities, both within and across countries. They also call for the incorporation of gender-sensitive welfare policies if equitable and healthy labor markets are to be achieved in Europe.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article was to examine the relationship between precarious employment (PE), welfare states (WS) and mental health in Europe from a gender perspective. METHODS: Data were derived from the European Working Conditions Survey 2015. PE was measured through the Employment Precariousness Scale for Europe (EPRES-E), validated for comparative research in 22 European countries, and categorized into quartiles. Countries were classified into Continental, Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian, Southern and Central-Eastern WS. Mental health was assessed through the WHO-5 Well-Being Index and dichotomized into poor and good mental health. In a sample of 22,555 formal employees, we performed gender-stratified multi-level logistic regression models. RESULTS: Results showed greater prevalences of PE and poor mental health among women. However, the association between them was stronger among men. Cross-country differences were observed in multi-level regressions, but the interaction effect of WS was only significant among women. More precisely, Central-Eastern WS enhanced the likelihood of poor mental health among women in high precarious employment situations (quartiles 3 and 4). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest the interaction between contextual and individual factors in the production of mental health inequalities, both within and across countries. They also call for the incorporation of gender-sensitive welfare policies if equitable and healthy labor markets are to be achieved in Europe.