Ninth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

This study seeks to assess whether socio-economic status (SES) affects the change of anxiety and depression level, using national longitudinal data from the panel study on Korean children (2012-2015). Anxiety and depression levels were measured using the Korean Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL), a standardized Korean version of the CBCL. SES was assessed with regard to household income, parent education, and employment status. Linear regression analysis and Hausman’s test were conducted in R (version 3.5.1) to investigate if socio-economic factors could predict the anxiety/depression levels. Findings reveal higher SES significantly decreased the odds of anxiety and depression, but the mother’s education level did not. Additionally, for the children having an unemployed mother, the mother’s higher education level significantly increased the odds of anxiety/depression while the father’s higher education decreased them. This study suggests taking SES into account may be an important factor in tackling children’s mental health inequalities as well as developing of anxiety/depression prevention strategies.