What effect did the global financial crisis have upon youth wellbeing? Evidence from four Australian cohorts

Philip D Parker; John Jerrim; Jake Anders

doi:10.1037/dev0000092

What effect did the global financial crisis have upon youth wellbeing? Evidence from four Australian cohorts

Dev Psychol. 2016 Apr;52(4):640-51. doi: 10.1037/dev0000092. Epub 2016 Feb 8.

Authors

Philip D Parker¹, John Jerrim², Jake Anders³

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University.
² Institute for Education, University College London.
³ National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

Abstract

Recent research has suggested significant negative effects of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) on mental health and wellbeing. In this article, the authors suggest that the developmental period of late adolescence may be at particular risk of economic downturns. Harmonizing 4 longitudinal cohorts of Australian youth (N = 38,017), we estimate the impact of the GFC on 1 general and 11 domain specific measures of wellbeing at age 19 and 22. Significant differences in wellbeing in most life domains were found, suggesting that wellbeing is susceptible to economic shocks. Given that the GFC in Australia was relatively mild, the finding of clear negative effects across 2 ages is of international concern.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Age Factors
Australia
Cohort Studies
Economic Recession*
Female
Humans
Male
Mental Health*
Models, Psychological*
Young Adult