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Dr. Bonnie L. Janzen

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Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5C9, Canada
Interests: social epidemiology; paid and unpaid work; gender; socioeconomic disparities; mental health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A number of studies have reported a link between mental health and socioeconomic status (SES), with those of lower SES reporting a greater burden of mental health problems compared to their higher SES counterparts. However, the presence, magnitude and nature of observed associations have not been invariant, with some differences in effect observed according to SES indicator, measure of mental health and sex/gender. Additionally under investigation are the proposed mechanisms which link SES with mental health. Substantial empirical support has accumulated for the differential exposure hypothesis, which posits that lower SES individuals are more likely than those of higher SES to encounter adverse material, psychosocial and/or behavioral exposures, which, in turn, increases their probability of psychological morbidity. Much less attention has been paid to differential susceptibility—that is, that SES may combine with other exposures to increase/decrease the probability of poorer mental health.

This Special Issue invites the submission of papers which enhance our understanding of the relationship between SES and mental health by examining: 1) nuances in the presence, strength and direction of associations; and/or 2) the pathways which contribute to the observed associations.

Dr. Bonnie L. Janzen
Guest Editor

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Keywords

socioeconomic status
mental health
mental health inequities
differential exposure
differential susceptibility
social epidemiology

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 936 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Housing Instability and Depression among US Mothers Following a Nonmarital Birth

by Sehun Oh, Ian Zapcic, Michael G. Vaughn, Christopher P. Salas-Wright and Yeonwoo Kim

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(19), 10322; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph181910322 - 30 Sep 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1641

Abstract

Mothers who had a nonmarital birth experience multiple risk factors for depression, including housing instability. Yet, important questions remain about the extent of long-term housing instability and its association with future depression among at-risk mothers. Using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study data, we examine cumulative housing instability over a 15-year period following nonmarital birth and its association with maternal depression. Based on a sample of 2279 mothers who had a nonmarital birth in 20 major US cities between 1998–2000, we examined their 15-year residential moves and housing arrangements. Then, we tested the associations between the cumulative residential moves and major depressive episodes (MDE) in Year 15 using logistic regression analysis. One in every four mothers had six or more residential moves in 15 years following a nonmarital birth. For each additional move, mothers reported up to 27.9% higher odds of having a past-year MDE in Year 15, translating into the prevalence increases from 6.0% (zero move) to 20.6% (10 moves). Our findings suggest that greater attention should be paid to housing needs among mothers following a nonmarital birth, including temporary housing assistance and more fundamental programs to reduce housing instability as preventive mental health services. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Socioeconomic Circumstances and Mental Health)

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15 pages, 716 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Household Income and Psychological Distress: Exploring Women’s Paid and Unpaid Work as Mediators

by Bonnie Janzen and Laurie-Ann Hellsten

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(12), 6402; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18126402 - 13 Jun 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2491

Abstract

Research suggests that a socioeconomic gradient in employed adults’ mental health may be partially mediated by their work conditions. Largely ignored in this body of research is the potential role of unpaid domestic labor. The objectives of this paper were to determine whether socioeconomic disparities in mental health were present in a sample of employed, partnered mothers, and if so, identify the intervening mechanisms which contributed to the disparity. Participants for this cross-sectional study were 512 women recruited from an online research panel of residents living in Saskatchewan, Canada. Household income was the primary exposure and psychological distress was the dependent variable. Potential mediators included material deprivation, job control, job demands, work–family conflict, and the conditions of domestic labor. Descriptive analyses followed by simple and multiple mediation analyses were performed. Lower income was associated with greater distress, with material deprivation, work–family conflict, and inequity in responsibility for domestic work acting as mediators. These results suggest that in addition to more well-established mechanisms, the conditions of unpaid domestic labor, particularly how that labor is shared within households, may play a role in the genesis of mental health inequities among employed partnered mothers. Limitations of the study are discussed as are implications for future research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Socioeconomic Circumstances and Mental Health)

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