Abstract
Longitudinal survey data describing 6,190 subjects are analyzed using log-linear methods to determine which, if any, of three hypothesized links between short-term community economic change and illness or injury is correct. The first possible link assumes that economic contraction increases the incidence of undesirable job and financial events that, in turn, increase the incidence of illness and injury. The second possible connection assumes that economic change per se increases the incidence of undesirable job and financial events and, therefore, the incidence of illness and injury. The third connection assumes that economic change per se increases the incidence of all job and financial events and therefore the incidence of illness and injury. The data support the first hypothesized connection, but the process is observed only in middle socio-economic status respondents. While undesirable job and financial experiences increase the likelihood of illness or injury for high and low SES groups, high SES respondents are less likely to experience such events during periods of contraction of the local economy than during expansion. The risk of low SES respondents having undesirable job and financial events did not vary longitudinally with the performance of the local economy.
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© 1983 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Catalano, R., Dooley, D. (1983). The Health Effects of Economic Instability: A Test of the Economic Stress Hypothesis. In: John, J., Schwefel, D., Zöllner, H. (eds) Influence of Economic Instability on Health. Lecture Notes in Medical Informatics, vol 21. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-07891-4_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-07891-4_8
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