Citation

Kuroki M. SSM Ment. Health 2021; 1.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.ssmmh.2021.100040

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Consistent with a rise in "deaths of despair" (drug overdose, alcoholism, and suicide), the percentage of Americans reporting major mental and emotional problems in all 30 of the last 30 days has been increasing. Based on the hypothesis that this rise in extreme levels of distress is driven partly by financial hardships, this study investigates whether higher state minimum wages reduce the likelihood of extreme levels of distress among low-income, prime-age Americans with no postsecondary education. By matching state minimum wages with individual-level data from the 2011-2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, this study finds that a ten percent increase in the minimum wage is associated with a 0.4-0.5 percentage-point decline in the likelihood of extreme distress. The finding is consistent with the notion that growing extreme distress is attributable to despair driven by economic hardships and financial strain. © 2021 The Author

Language: en

Keywords

United States; human; mental health; Mental health; Well-being; risk factor; Distress; mental stress; economic aspect; social status; Article; trend study; financial stress; minimum wage; Minimum wage