Dagher and Chen examine association between the Great Recession and mental health
Men and women in the U.S. had lower odds of depression diagnoses and better mental health during the Great Recession of 2007-09 compared to pre-recession according to a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE by MPRC faculty associates Rada K. Dagher and Jie Chen, and Stephen B. Thomas, who is a professor in the UMD Department of Health Services Administration. This is the first US study to examine the association between the Great Recession and mental health at the population level. "Research has consistently found that women are twice as likely to have an anxiety disorder than men and these gender differences may have persisted throughout the recession and the post-recession period," Dr. Dagher said. "Interestingly, our study found that women who lived in the Northeast or the Midwest, were unemployed, or had low household income were most likely to have higher rates of anxiety diagnoses. This information could help policymakers craft targeted responses to future economic downturns."
The findings of lower odds of depression diagnoses for males and females during the recession may signify decreased visits to mental health providers. An alternative explanation could be that during economic downturns people have more leisure time to spend on family, friends and exercise. The passage of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 may have facilitated access to mental health care in a timely fashion which might have prevented serious mental illnesses. Future studies should research these potential explanations and ascertain which one is at work, using state-specific unemployment rates.