{"title":"Employment status, material hardship, and mental health among low-income working-age adults in South Korea","authors":"RaeHyuck Lee, Jaeseung Kim, Joyce Shim","doi":"10.1111/aswp.12277","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>The current study examines the associations between employment status and mental health and the mediating role of material hardship among low-income households in South Korea. This study uses regression models with a rich set of control variables and lagged dependent variable models with a nationally representative sample of 1113 low-income working-age household heads from the Korean Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS). We find that the nonstandard employment and unemployment statuses are associated with a higher level of depression and a lower level of self-esteem, when compared to a standard employment status. These negative associations are partially mediated by an increased material hardship risk. Policy implications to improve employment conditions and mitigate material hardship are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":44567,"journal":{"name":"Asian Social Work and Policy Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Asian Social Work and Policy Review","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aswp.12277","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"SOCIAL WORK","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The current study examines the associations between employment status and mental health and the mediating role of material hardship among low-income households in South Korea. This study uses regression models with a rich set of control variables and lagged dependent variable models with a nationally representative sample of 1113 low-income working-age household heads from the Korean Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS). We find that the nonstandard employment and unemployment statuses are associated with a higher level of depression and a lower level of self-esteem, when compared to a standard employment status. These negative associations are partially mediated by an increased material hardship risk. Policy implications to improve employment conditions and mitigate material hardship are discussed.
期刊介绍:
There is a growing recognition that major social trends, such as the process of globalization, rapidly changing demography, increasing psycho-social difficulties in individuals and families, growing economic disparities within and between the nations, and international migration, present important challenges for social policies and social work practices in Asia. It also has become evident that social policy strategies and social work methods must be developed and implemented in the context of Asian region''s own histories, cultures, and unique developmental trajectories in order to respond effectively to those emerging challenges. The Asian Social Work and Policy Review seeks to encourage exchanges of original ideas, rigorous analysis of experiences, innovative practice methods founded on local knowledge and skills of problem solving in the areas of social work and social policy between various countries in Asia.