IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i15p8944-d869663.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Relationship between Income and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China

Author

Listed:
  • Mingna Li

    (School of Literature, Changchun University, Changchun 130012, China)

  • Bo Zhou

    (School of Economy, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China)

  • Bingbin Hu

    (School of Northeast Asian, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China)

Abstract

Mental health problems represent one most pressing concerns in the world, which produce costly consequences for individuals, families and society as a whole. One of the determinants on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic is income. To complement relevant research and provide valuable recommendations for governments and societies, this study investigates the nexus between income and mental health in China by employing 8049 observations from the 2020 China Family Panel Studies. Using ordinary least squares regression we find the significant positive relationship between income and mental health, and estimate the effect of income on mental health. Furthermore, this effect is heterogeneous depending on individuals’ education level and registered residence type. Finally, individuals’ economic status and happiness are shown to be the potential mechanism through which the effect of income on mental health operates.

Suggested Citation

  • Mingna Li & Bo Zhou & Bingbin Hu, 2022. "Relationship between Income and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-14, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:15:p:8944-:d:869663
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/15/8944/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/15/8944/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Qi Jiang & Xinshu She & Sarah-Eve Dill & Sean Sylvia & Manpreet Kaur Singh & Huan Wang & Matthew Boswell & Scott Rozelle, 2022. "Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms among Children and Adolescents in Rural China: A Large-Scale Epidemiological Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-16, April.
    2. Rui Zhang & Yunzhi Zhang & Zhe Dai, 2022. "Impact of Natural Disasters on Mental Health: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on the 2014 China Family Panel Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-17, February.
    3. Yibin Ao & Hao Zhu & Fanrong Meng & Yan Wang & Gui Ye & Linchuan Yang & Na Dong & Igor Martek, 2020. "The Impact of Social Support on Public Anxiety amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-14, December.
    4. José Pais-Ribeiro & Alexandra Ferreira-Valente & Margarida Jarego & Elisabet Sánchez-Rodríguez & Jordi Miró, 2022. "COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal: Psychosocial and Health-Related Factors Associated with Psychological Discomfort," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-13, March.
    5. Maria Ferrara & Elisa Langiano & Lavinia Falese & Antonella De Marco & Elisabetta De Vito, 2021. "Quality of Life and Psychosocial Impacts of the Different Restrictive Measures during One Year into the COVID-19 Pandemic on Patients with Cancer in Italy: An Ecological Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-14, July.
    6. Ettner, Susan L., 1996. "New evidence on the relationship between income and health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 67-85, February.
    7. Usman Mehmood & Ephraim Bonah Agyekum & Salman Tariq & Zia Ul Haq & Solomon Eghosa Uhunamure & Joshua Nosa Edokpayi & Ayesha Azhar, 2022. "Socio-Economic Drivers of Renewable Energy: Empirical Evidence from BRICS," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-10, April.
    8. Richard Ball & Kateryna Chernova, 2008. "Absolute Income, Relative Income, and Happiness," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 88(3), pages 497-529, September.
    9. Ann Scheck McAlearney & Alice A. Gaughan & Sarah R. MacEwan & Megan E. Gregory & Laura J. Rush & Jaclyn Volney & Ashish R. Panchal, 2022. "Pandemic Experience of First Responders: Fear, Frustration, and Stress," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-12, April.
    10. Filippo Rapisarda & Martine Vallarino & Camille Brousseau-Paradis & Luigi De Benedictis & Marc Corbière & Patrizia Villotti & Elena Cavallini & Catherine Briand & Lionel Cailhol & Alain Lesage, 2022. "Workplace Factors, Burnout Signs, and Clinical Mental Health Symptoms among Mental Health Workers in Lombardy and Quebec during the First Wave of COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-14, March.
    11. Wenjuan Du & Jiayi Zhou & Jianjian Liu & Xuhao Yang & Hanxu Wang & Meikun He & Zongfu Mao & Xiaojun Liu, 2019. "Social-Demographic Correlates of the Mental Health Conditions among the Chinese Elderly," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-13, December.
    12. Yo-Ting Jin & Miao-Ju Chwo & Chin-Mi Chen & Shi-Hao Huang & Yao-Ching Huang & Chi-Hsiang Chung & Chien-An Sun & I-Long Lin & Wu-Chien Chien & Gwo-Jang Wu, 2022. "Relationship between Injuries and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Population-Based Study with Long-Term Follow-Up in Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-13, March.
    13. Kimberly C. Thomson & Emily Jenkins & Randip Gill & Chris G. Richardson & Monique Gagné Petteni & Corey McAuliffe & Anne M. Gadermann, 2021. "Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Family Mental Health in Canada: Findings from a Multi-Round Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-17, November.
    14. Zhang, Xin & Zhang, Xiaobo & Chen, Xi, 2017. "Happiness in the air: How does a dirty sky affect mental health and subjective well-being?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 81-94.
    15. Carlota de Miquel & Joan Domènech-Abella & Mireia Felez-Nobrega & Paula Cristóbal-Narváez & Philippe Mortier & Gemma Vilagut & Jordi Alonso & Beatriz Olaya & Josep Maria Haro, 2022. "The Mental Health of Employees with Job Loss and Income Loss during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Perceived Financial Stress," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-14, March.
    16. Ilona Laurinaitytė & Luciana C. Assini-Meytin & Ksenija Čunichina, 2022. "Examining the Associations between Adverse Childhood Experiences, Health Risk Behaviours, and Psychological Well-Being in a Convenience Sample of Lithuanian University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-12, March.
    17. Fabio Jiménez-Zazo & Cristina Romero-Blanco & Esther Cabanillas & Asier Mañas & José A. Casajús & Narcís Gusi & Eva Gesteiro & Marcela González-Gross & José-Gerardo Villa-Vicente & Luis Espino-Toron &, 2022. "Differences among Sociodemographic Variables, Physical Fitness Levels, and Body Composition with Adherence to Regular Physical Activity in Older Adults from the EXERNET Multicenter Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-9, March.
    18. Stefano Quarta & Annalisa Levante & María-Teresa García-Conesa & Flavia Lecciso & Egeria Scoditti & Maria Annunziata Carluccio & Nadia Calabriso & Fabrizio Damiano & Giuseppe Santarpino & Tiziano Verr, 2022. "Assessment of Subjective Well-Being in a Cohort of University Students and Staff Members: Association with Physical Activity and Outdoor Leisure Time during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-26, April.
    19. Elisabet Sánchez-Rodríguez & Alexandra Ferreira-Valente & Filipa Pimenta & Antonella Ciaramella & Jordi Miró, 2022. "Mental, Physical and Socio-Economic Status of Adults Living in Spain during the Late Stages of the State of Emergency Caused by COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-14, January.
    20. Yang Xiao & Yanjie Bian & Lei Zhang, 2020. "Mental Health of Chinese Online Networkers under COVID-19: A Sociological Analysis of Survey Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-17, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Eric Yee & Changhwa Jung & Derrick Cheriberi & Minjune Choi & Wonsick Park, 2022. "Impacts of Transitioning to an Online Curriculum at a Graduate School in South Korea Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-13, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xinghua Zhao & Zongfeng Sun, 2020. "The Effect of Satisfaction with Environmental Performance on Subjective Well-Being in China: GDP as a Moderating Factor," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-12, February.
    2. Mas Ayu Said & Govindamal Thangiah & Hazreen Abdul Majid & Rozmi Ismail & Tan Maw Pin & Hussein Rizal & Mohd Azlan Shah Zaidi & Daniel Reidpath & Tin Tin Su, 2022. "Income Disparity and Mental Wellbeing among Adults in Semi-Urban and Rural Areas in Malaysia: The Mediating Role of Social Capital," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-16, May.
    3. Jordi Miró & Elisabet Sánchez-Rodríguez & M. Carme Nolla & Rui M. Costa & J. Pais-Ribeiro & Alexandra Ferreira-Valente, 2022. "The Role of Resilience, Happiness, and Social Support in the Psychological Function during the Late Stages of the Lockdown in Individuals with and without Chronic Pain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-10, May.
    4. Mingzhi Hu & Yuming Yang & Yinxin Su & Xiaofen Yu, 2024. "Broadband Infrastructure and Happiness of Rural Households in China," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 25(6), pages 1-25, August.
    5. Rui Zhang & Chenglei Zhang & Jiahui Xia & Dawei Feng & Shaoyong Wu, 2022. "Household Wealth and Individuals’ Mental Health: Evidence from the 2012–2018 China Family Panel Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-18, September.
    6. Rui Zhang & Yunzhi Zhang & Zhe Dai, 2022. "Impact of Natural Disasters on Mental Health: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on the 2014 China Family Panel Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-17, February.
    7. Liu, Yan & Chen, Xi & Yan, Zhijun, 2019. "Depression in the House: The Effects of Household Air Pollution from Solid Fuel Use in China," IZA Discussion Papers 12654, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Chen, Zhuo & Eastwood, David B. & Yen, Steven T., 2005. "Childhood Malnutrition In China: Change Of Inequality In A Decade," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19205, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    9. Hugh Gravelle & Matt Sutton, 2009. "Income, relative income, and self‐reported health in Britain 1979–2000," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(2), pages 125-145, February.
    10. Haobin Fan & Xuanyi Nie, 2020. "Impacts of Layoffs and Government Assistance on Mental Health during COVID-19: An Evidence-Based Study of the United States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-23, September.
    11. Jianglong Li & Shiqiang Sun & Mun Sing Ho, 2024. "Immediate Impacts of Air Pollution on the Performance of Football Players," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 25(6), pages 753-776, August.
    12. G Oskrochi & Ahmed Bani-Mustafa & Y Oskrochi, 2018. "Factors affecting psychological well-being: Evidence from two nationally representative surveys," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(6), pages 1-14, June.
    13. Yayun Ren & Jian Yu & Guanglai Zhang & Chang Zhang & Wenmei Liao, 2023. "The Short- and Long-Run Impacts of Air Pollution on Human Health: New Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-23, January.
    14. Rahman, Tauhidur & Mittelhammer, Ron C. & Wandschneider, Philip R., 2011. "Measuring quality of life across countries: A multiple indicators and multiple causes approach," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 43-52, February.
    15. William Magee, 2023. "Earnings, Intersectional Earnings Inequality, Disappointment in One’s Life Achievements and Life (Dis)satisfaction," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 373-396, January.
    16. Andrea Baranzini & Stefano Carattini & Linda Tesauro, 2021. "Designing Effective and Acceptable Road Pricing Schemes: Evidence from the Geneva Congestion Charge," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 79(3), pages 417-482, July.
    17. R Todd Jewell & Maximo Rossi & Patricia Triunfo, 2006. "El Estado de Salud de los Jóvenes Uruguayos," Latin American Journal of Economics-formerly Cuadernos de Economía, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile., vol. 43(128), pages 235-250.
    18. Peng Nie & Andrew E. Clarck & Conchita D'Ambrosio & Lanlin Ding, 2020. "Income-related health inequality in urban China (1991-2015): The role of homeownership and housing conditions," Working Papers 524, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    19. Pan Zhang & Zhiguo Wang, 2019. "PM 2.5 Concentrations and Subjective Well-Being: Longitudinal Evidence from Aggregated Panel Data from Chinese Provinces," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-13, March.
    20. Ming, Yaxin & Deng, Huixin & Wu, Xiaoyue, 2022. "The negative effect of air pollution on people's pro-environmental behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 72-87.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:15:p:8944-:d:869663. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.