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The distribution of wellbeing in Ireland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

Liam Delaney ,
Orla Doyle ,
Kenneth McKenzie  and
Patrick Wall
Liam Delaney*
Affiliation:
UCD Geary Institute, University College Dublin
Orla Doyle
Affiliation:
UCD Geary Institute, University College Dublin
Kenneth McKenzie
Affiliation:
UCD School of Public Health and Population Science, University College Dublin
Patrick Wall
Affiliation:
UCD Geary Institute & UCD School of Public Health and Population Science, University College Dublin, Ireland
*
*Correspondence E-mail: Liam.Delaney@ucd.ie
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Abstract

Objectives: There is a substantial knowledge gap about the distribution of mental health in community populations. The European Social Survey is particularly useful as it contains information on over 40,000 individuals, including 2,286 Irish adults. The objective of this study is to conduct a large scale statistical analysis to examine the distribution and determinants of mental wellbeing in a large representative sample of the Irish population.

Method: Analysis of the European Social Survey using robust multiple linear and non-linear regression techniques. The data-set contains WHO-Five scores and subjective wellbeing for a sample of 2,286 Irish people interviewed in their homes in 2005.

Results: Ireland has the second highest average WHO-Five score among the 22 countries in the European Social Survey. Multiple linear regression analysis across the distribution of WHO-Five reveals a wellbeing gradient largely related to education and social capital variables. A probit model examining the determinants of vulnerability to psychiatric morbidity reveals that a similar set of factors predict scores below the threshold point on the WHO-Five scale.

Conclusions: The results are consistent with marked differences in mental wellbeing across education levels and variables relating to social capital factors. Such indicators provide a useful index for policy-makers and researchers. However, much further work is needed to identify causal mechanisms generating observed differences in mental health across different socioeconomic groups.

Keywords

Psychological wellbeingWHO-Five
Type
Original Papers
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , September 2009 , pp. 119 - 126
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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