The association between residential area characteristics and mental health outcomes among men and women in Belgium
Open Access
- 24 October 2011
- journal article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Archives of Public Health
- Vol. 69 (1), 3
- https://doi.org/10.1186/0778-7367-69-3
Abstract
Aim Recently, interest has grown in the association between contextual factors and health outcomes. This study questions whether mental health complaints vary according to the socio-economic characteristics of the residential area where people live. The gender-specific patterns are studied. Methods Complaints of depression and generalized anxiety were measured by means of the relevant subscales of the Symptoms Checklist 90-Revised. Multilevel models were estimated with PASW statistics 18, based on a unique dataset, constructed by merging data from the Belgian Health Interview Surveys from 2001 and 2004 with data from 264 municipalities derived from Statistics Belgium and the General Socio-Economic Survey. Main findings The results of this exploratory study indicate that the local unemployment rate is associated with complaints of depression among women. Conclusion This study suggests that policy should approach the male and female population differently when implementing mental health prevention campaigns.Keywords
This publication has 89 references indexed in Scilit:
- Perceptions of the neighbourhood environment and self rated health: a multilevel analysis of the Caerphilly Health and Social Needs StudyBMC Public Health, 2007
- Toward the next generation of research into small area effects on health: a synthesis of multilevel investigations published since July 1998Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2007
- Places, people and mental health: A multilevel analysis of economic inactivitySocial Science & Medicine (1982), 2007
- Does gender modify associations between self rated health and the social and economic characteristics of local environments?Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2006
- Absence of spatial variation in rates of the common mental disordersJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2005
- Women, family demands and health: the importance of employment status and socio-economic positionSocial Science & Medicine (1982), 2004
- Ward-Level Deprivation and Individual Social and Economic Outcomes in the British Household Panel StudyEnvironment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 2001
- HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY: What is an Unhealthy Environment and How Does It Get Under the Skin?Annual Review of Psychology, 1997
- Psychiatric morbidity: a multilevel approach to regional variations in the UK.Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 1995
- Sex differences in unipolar depression: Evidence and theory.Psychological Bulletin, 1987