Do Current and Lifetime Mental Health Issues Influence Subjective Social Status?

Abstract

Background: Mental health issues can impact overall health status, personal relationships, workplace productivity, and other outcomes.

Aims of the study: The primary objective of this study is to determine whether recent and lifetime mental health problems are significantly related to respondents' subjective social status (SSS).

Methods: Respondents to Waves IV (2008-2009) and V (2016-2018) of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) provide the data for our research. Our empirical approach estimates Spearman correlation coefficients between self-reported mental health measures and SSS followed by multivariate regression models. The final empirical models estimate fixed-effects regressions to control for potential bias due to time-invariant unobserved heterogeneity. SSS is measured on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 indicating perceived highest place in society.

Results: All four explanatory mental health measures (ever been diagnosed with depression, ever been diagnosed with PTSD, ever been diagnosed with anxiety or panic disorder, and past 12 month psychological or emotional counseling) are negatively and significantly (p < 0.05) associated with the outcome variable, SSS.

Discussion: Relative placement in society is associated with overall health and well-being. This study contributes in a methodologically meaningful way to the existing literature by employing empirically advanced statistical techniques to panel data. The main findings clearly demonstrate that mental health issues are negatively associated with SSS.

Implications: These findings have important policy implications for mental health counselors, employers, and society in general as mental health problems become more common and less stigmatized in the U.S.