Morrissey Karyn, Taylor Tim, Tu Gengyang
Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark.
International Business School Suzhou, Xi'an Jiaotong- Liverpool University, 111 Ren'ai Rd, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123 China.
Appl Res Qual Life. 2023;18(2):915-930. doi: 10.1007/s11482-022-10121-4. Epub 2022 Nov 12.
Previous research has indicated that the role of childhood circumstances on adult mental health is primarily mediated through adult socioeconomic circumstances. Using linear regression models and mediation analysis this paper examines whether childhood financial circumstances is associated with adult mental wellbeing and to what extent any association is explained by adult financial circumstances. Adjusting for age and highest education attainment, we found that childhood financial circumstances predict wellbeing in adulthood. However, stratifying by age (respondents aged 18-40, 41-65 and 66 years plus), a more complicated pattern of associations emerged with potential cohort and age effects emerging. Only adult financial circumstances significantly impact adult wellbeing in our youngest group, while neither childhood nor adult financial circumstances are significantly associated with wellbeing in the oldest age group (66 years plus). However, both childhood and adult financial circumstances were significantly associated with wellbeing in middle age, and this effect was mostly direct (OR-1.09: CI 95%: -1.63, -0.17) rather than indirect (OR-0.08: CI 95%: -0.17, -0.01). This research adds to the evidence base that childhood is a critical period for wellbeing in middle age (41-65 years). Previous research has found that subjective wellbeing plays an important role in physical and mental health outcomes in adulthood. The impact of financial hardship in childhood on wellbeing in adulthood found in this study is particularly concerning as levels of child poverty increase in the UK.
先前的研究表明，童年境遇对成年后心理健康的影响主要是通过成年后的社会经济状况来介导的。本文运用线性回归模型和中介分析，探讨童年经济状况是否与成年后的心理健康相关，以及成年经济状况在多大程度上解释了这种关联。在对年龄和最高学历进行调整后，我们发现童年经济状况能够预测成年后的幸福感。然而，按年龄分层（18 - 40岁、41 - 65岁以及66岁及以上的受访者），出现了一种更为复杂的关联模式，其中潜在的队列效应和年龄效应显现出来。在最年轻的群体中，只有成年经济状况对成年后的幸福感有显著影响，而在最年长的年龄组（66岁及以上）中，童年和成年经济状况均与幸福感无显著关联。然而，童年和成年经济状况在中年时均与幸福感显著相关，且这种影响大多是直接的（比值比 - 1.09：95%置信区间：- 1.63，- 0.17）而非间接的（比值比 - 0.08：95%置信区间：- 0.17，- 0.01）。这项研究进一步证明，童年是中年（41 - 65岁）时期幸福感的关键时期。先前的研究发现，主观幸福感在成年后的身心健康结果中起着重要作用。鉴于英国儿童贫困水平的上升，本研究中发现的童年时期经济困难对成年后幸福感的影响尤其令人担忧。
