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Gender differences in mental well-being : a decomposition analysis

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  • David (David Patrick) Madden

Abstract

The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) is frequently used as a measure of mental well-being. A consistent pattern across countries is that women report lower levels of mental well-being, as measured by the GHQ. This paper applies decomposition techniques to Irish data for 1994 and 2000 to examine the factors lying behind the gender differences in GHQ score. For 1994 most of the difference is accounted for by characteristics while in 2000 most of the difference arises from returns to characteristics. The issue of path dependence, or choice of reference group, is shown to be important, mostly arising from the differing effect of principal economic status on men and women.

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  • David (David Patrick) Madden, 2008. "Gender differences in mental well-being : a decomposition analysis," Working Papers 200803, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucn:wpaper:200803
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10197/765
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    Cited by:

    1. Chris Dawson & Michail Veliziotis & Benjamin Hopkins, 2017. "Temporary employment, job satisfaction and subjective well-being," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 38(1), pages 69-98, February.
    2. Elena Cottini & Claudio Lucifora, 2013. "Mental Health and Working Conditions in Europe," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(4), pages 958-988, July.
    3. Seung-Eun Cha & Ki-Soo Eun, 2018. "Convergence in Sleep Time Accomplished? Gender Gap in Sleep Time for Middle-Aged Adults in Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-14, April.
    4. Stella Quah, 2011. "Gender and the burden of disease in ten Asian countries: An exploratory analysis," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 8(4), pages 499-512, April.
    5. Cottini, Elena & Lucifora, Claudio, 2010. "Mental Health and Working Conditions in European Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 4717, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Pilar Beneito & Maria E. Rochina-Barrachina & Amparo Sanchis, 2023. "Female R&D teams and patents as quality signals in innovative firms," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(7), pages 891-922, October.
    7. Chris Dawson & Michail Veliziotis & Gail Pacheco & Don Webber, 2014. "Is temporary employment a cause or consequence of poor mental health?," Working Papers 2014-06, Auckland University of Technology, Department of Economics.
    8. Andrea Cabezas-Rodríguez & Mireia Utzet & Amaia Bacigalupe, 2021. "Which are the intermediate determinants of gender inequalities in mental health?: A scoping review," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 67(8), pages 1005-1025, December.
    9. Sunoong Hwang & Heeju Shin, 2023. "Gender Gap in Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Korea: A Decomposition Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-14, January.
    10. Paul Siu Fai Yip & Yunyu Xiao & Clifford Long Hin Wong & Terry Kit Fong Au, 2020. "Is there gender bias in research grant success in social sciences?: Hong Kong as a case study," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-10, December.
    11. Amondo, Emily Injete, 2021. "Gender Gap in Health Outcomes Among the Rural Working Age Individuals: Does Weather Effects Play a Role?," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315096, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Soomin Ryu & Lu Fan, 2023. "The Relationship Between Financial Worries and Psychological Distress Among U.S. Adults," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 16-33, March.
    13. Dawson, Chris & Veliziotis, Michail & Pacheco, Gail & Webber, Don J., 2015. "Is temporary employment a cause or consequence of poor mental health? A panel data analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 50-58.
    14. Emilly Cavalheiro Esidio & Marco Túlio Aniceto França & Gustavo Saraiva Frio, 2023. "Differences between genders in the subjective well-being of students participating in PISA 2018," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(4), pages 1781-1809, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    GHQ; Decomposition; Path dependence; Mental health--Sex differences; Mental health--Statistical methods; Decomposition (Mathematics);
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

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