Mosca Irene, Barrett Alan
The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Lincoln Gate, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland,
J Ment Health Policy Econ. 2016 Mar;19(1):33-44.
The few studies that have attempted to identify the causal effects of retirement on mental health and well-being have provided conflicting evidence. Hence, whether retirement affects mental health positively or negatively is still unclear.
Our primary objective is to investigate the impact of retirement on mental health as measured by the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).
We use data from the first two waves of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). This is a nationally representative sample of individuals aged 50 and over and living in Ireland. To deal with possible endogeneity problems, we use first-differenced estimation models and control for a broad range of life events occurring between the two waves. These include transition to retirement but also demographic, social, economic and physical health events. As part of the TILDA survey, reasons for retirement are asked. We exploit this information and distinguish between individuals who retired voluntarily, involuntarily or because of own ill health.
We find that involuntary, or forced, retirement has a negative and statistically significant effect on mental health. In the case of voluntary retirement, negative mental health effects are also found but the magnitude is smaller and the effects are not statistically significant in all models. We also find that retirement due to poor ill health is negatively associated with mental health. These negative effects seem to diminish with time.
The finding of differences in the extent of mental health impacts across the various reasons for retirement is an important addition to the literature. While our estimation approach reduces potential endogeneity problems, time-variant unobservables are not removed through our first differencing approach.
Individuals who are retiring involuntarily are more likely than others to be suffering depressive symptoms. Hence, they are more likely to present at GPs with such symptoms.
It would be preferable if involuntary retirement can be avoided. Transitions paths from work to retirement could help protect people's mental health.
Reasons for retirement should now feature in analyses of this type.
少数试图确定退休对心理健康和幸福感因果影响的研究提供了相互矛盾的证据。因此，退休对心理健康是产生积极还是消极影响仍不明确。
我们的主要目标是通过20项流行病学研究中心抑郁量表（CES-D）来调查退休对心理健康的影响。
我们使用了爱尔兰老龄化纵向研究（TILDA）前两波的数据。这是一个具有全国代表性的50岁及以上居住在爱尔兰的个体样本。为处理可能的内生性问题，我们使用一阶差分估计模型，并对两波调查期间发生的一系列生活事件进行控制。这些事件包括退休过渡，也包括人口、社会、经济和身体健康方面的事件。作为TILDA调查的一部分，会询问退休原因。我们利用这些信息，区分自愿退休、非自愿退休或因自身健康问题退休的个体。
我们发现非自愿或被迫退休对心理健康有负面且在统计上显著的影响。对于自愿退休的情况，也发现了对心理健康的负面影响，但程度较小，且在所有模型中影响在统计上不显著。我们还发现因健康状况不佳而退休与心理健康呈负相关。这些负面影响似乎会随着时间减弱。
不同退休原因对心理健康影响程度存在差异这一发现是该文献的一个重要补充。虽然我们的估计方法减少了潜在的内生性问题，但时变不可观测因素并未通过我们的一阶差分方法消除。
非自愿退休的个体比其他人更有可能出现抑郁症状。因此，他们更有可能因这些症状去看全科医生。
如果能避免非自愿退休则更好。从工作到退休的过渡路径有助于保护人们的心理健康。
退休原因现在应纳入此类分析。
