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Urban-Rural Differences in Anxiety and Depression in the UK, New Zealand, and Norway

Author

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  • Finnemann, Adam

    (University of Amsterdam)

  • Skjerdingstad, Nora
  • Speyer, Lydia
  • Zavlis, Orestis
  • Bartoš, František
  • Wiers, Reinout
  • van der Maas, Han
  • Sibley, Chris G

    (University of Auckland)

  • Johnson, Sverre Urnes
  • Helmich, Marieke A.

    (University of Oslo (UiO))

Abstract

As the global urban population surpasses 50%, understanding the impact of urban environments on mental health is crucial. This study examines the relationship between urbanicity and the prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders in the United Kingdom (UK; N = 449,323), New Zealand (N = 33,042), and Norway (N = 13,238). We address the limitations of previous research, which relied on dichotomous and varying definitions of urbanicity, by employing a continuous measure of urbanicity consistently across our three samples. Results revealed country-specific patterns: in the UK, a non-linear pattern showed a minimum in semi-urban areas but increased prevalences of anxiety and depression in both urban and rural regions; in New Zealand, only urban living was linked to a higher prevalence of anxiety, while depression rates remained consistent across settings; in Norway, increased mental health problems were associated with rural residency. These relationships were robust across various sensitivity analyses. The results underscore the country-specific connection between urbanicity and mental health, offering a path for future research to explore cross-national variation in urban environments toward identifying aspects of urban life that serve as favorable versus detrimental to mental health.

Suggested Citation

  • Finnemann, Adam & Skjerdingstad, Nora & Speyer, Lydia & Zavlis, Orestis & Bartoš, František & Wiers, Reinout & van der Maas, Han & Sibley, Chris G & Johnson, Sverre Urnes & Helmich, Marieke A., 2024. "Urban-Rural Differences in Anxiety and Depression in the UK, New Zealand, and Norway," OSF Preprints zxw4n_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:zxw4n_v1
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/zxw4n_v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Emily Sohn, 2022. "Tackling the mental-health crisis in young people," Nature, Nature, vol. 608(7924), pages 39-41, August.
    2. Elisa Heinrich Mora & Jacob J. Jackson & Cate Heine & Geoffrey B. West & Vicky Chuqiao Yang & Christopher P. Kempes, 2021. "Scaling of Urban Income Inequality in the United States," Papers 2102.13150, arXiv.org.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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