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Objectives
Little is known about the impact of recessions on young people’s socioeconomic inequalities in health. This study investigates the impact of the economic recession in terms of youth unemployment on socioeconomic inequalities in psychological health complaints among adolescents across Europe and North America.
Methods
Data from the WHO collaborative ‘Health Behaviour in School-aged Children’ (HBSC) study were collected in 2005/06 (N = 160,830) and 2009/10 (N = 166,590) in 31 European and North American countries. Logistic multilevel models were used to assess the contribution of youth unemployment in 2009/10 (enduring recession) and the change in youth unemployment (2005–2010) to adolescent psychological health complaints and socioeconomic inequalities in complaints in 2009/10.
Results
Youth unemployment during the recession is positively related to psychological health complaints, but not to inequalities in complaints. Changes in youth unemployment (2005–2010) were not associated with adolescents’ psychological health complaints, whereas greater inequalities in complaints were found in countries with greater increases in youth unemployment.
Conclusions
This study highlights the need to tackle the impact of increasing unemployment on adolescent health and health inequalities during economic recessions.
Objectives
Cross-national studies have rarely focused on young people. The aim of this study is to investigate whether macro-level determinants are associated with health and socioeconomic inequalities in young people's health.
Study design
Data were collected from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study in 2006, which included 11- to 15-year old adolescents from 27 European and North American countries (n = 134,632). This study includes national income, health expenditure, income inequality, and welfare regime dummy-variables as macro-level determinants, using hierarchical regression modelling.
Main outcome measure
Psychosomatic health complaints and socioeconomic inequalities in psychosomatic health complaints.
Results
Adolescents in countries with higher income inequality and with liberal welfare tradition were associated with more health complaints and a stronger relationship between socioeconomic status and macro-level determinants compared to adolescents from countries with lower income inequality or the Social Democratic regime. National income and health expenditure were not related to health complaints. Countries with higher national income, public health expenditure and income inequality showed stronger associations between socioeconomic status and psychosomatic health complaints.
Conclusion
Results showed that macro-level characteristics are relevant determinants of health and health inequalities in adolescence.