The Mental Health of Employees with Job Loss and Income Loss during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Perceived Financial Stress

Carlota de Miquel, Joan Domènech-Abella, Mireia Felez-Nobrega, Paula Cristóbal-Narváez, Philippe Mortier, Gemma Vilagut, Jordi Alonso, Beatriz Olaya and Josep Maria Haro
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Carlota de Miquel: Research, Innovation and Teaching Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, 08830 Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
Joan Domènech-Abella: Research, Innovation and Teaching Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, 08830 Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
Mireia Felez-Nobrega: Research, Innovation and Teaching Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, 08830 Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
Paula Cristóbal-Narváez: Research, Innovation and Teaching Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, 08830 Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
Philippe Mortier: Health Services Research Unit, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Gemma Vilagut: Health Services Research Unit, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Jordi Alonso: Health Services Research Unit, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Beatriz Olaya: Research, Innovation and Teaching Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, 08830 Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
Josep Maria Haro: Research, Innovation and Teaching Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, 08830 Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: The COVID-19 outbreak, which was followed by home confinement, is expected to have had profound negative impact on the mental health of people. Associated factors, such as losing jobs and income, can be expected to lead to an increased risk of suffering from psychopathological problems. Therefore, this study was aimed at researching the associations of job and income loss with mental health, as well as the possible mediating role of perceived financial stress during the COVID-19 outbreak. The sample included 2381 Spanish workers who were interviewed right after the first COVID-19 lockdown. Measures were taken for generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, working conditions, sociodemographic variables, and perceived financial stress. Logistic regression models were calculated with psychological variables as outcomes, and with job loss and income loss as predictors. Mediation analyses were performed by adding the financial threat as a mediator. Nineteen point six percent and 33.9% of participants reported having lost their jobs and incomes due to the pandemic, respectively. Only income loss was related to a higher risk of suffering from depression and panic attacks. When adding financial stress as a mediator, the indirect effects of job and income loss on the mental health measures were found to be significant, therefore indicating mediation. These findings pinpoint the vulnerability of this population, and highlight the need for interventional and preventive programs targeting mental health in economic crisis scenarios, such as the current one. They also highlight the importance of implementing social and income policies during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent mental health problems.

Keywords: mental health; COVID-19; income loss; job loss; financial stress; mediation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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