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Issue Addressed Study Design Methods Results Conclusion So What? The uptake of recommended preventative measures is a critical concern for protecting the public against COVID‐19 outbreaks and future pandemics. However, it is unclear to what extent COVID‐19 preventative measures were followed in Australia. This study aims to determine adherence level to COVID‐19 preventative measures in 2021, and whether these were associated with socioeconomic status (SES).This was a national cross‐sectional study using data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey.This study included 15 457 community‐dwelling adults (18 years or older) who participated in the 2021 wave of HILDA survey. SES was assessed by the Socio‐Economic Index For Areas (SEIFA) score, split into quintiles. Outcomes included self‐reported adherence to COVID‐19 preventative measures (mask wearing, keeping distance, staying home; sum score range 3–15) and COVID‐19 status (yes/no). Linear and logistic regression were used accordingly to assess the association between SES and the sum score of adherence to COVID‐19 measures, and COVID‐19 vaccination status.Adherence to COVID‐19 preventative measures and uptake of COVID‐19 vaccine in Australia in 2021 were moderate (between 60% and 70%). Regression models showed higher SES was associated with a slightly higher score of adherence (β = .08, 95% CI = .04–.12) and a higher likelihood of self‐reporting receiving COVID‐19 vaccination (OR 1.27, 95% CI = 1.23–1.31).SES was positively associated with the level of adherence to COVID‐19 preventative measures and the probability of receiving COVID‐19 vaccine. The findings of this study highlight the potential benefits of considering SES, particularly its impact on equity and access, when designing an educational program or awareness campaign in times of crisis.The findings of this study highlight the importance of considering SES when designing an educational program or an awareness campaign in times of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper was to measure the prevalence of food insecurity (FI) in Australia during the COVID‐19 pandemic using the 8‐item Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). Employing the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, Rasch models alongside a discrete method were used to investigate the severity of FI and robustness of the 8‐item FIES during 2020–2021. Our results indicate that during 2020–2021, 6.47% of Australians experienced moderate or severe FI and 2.93% experienced severe FI. Validation tests following United Nations guidelines show similar weighted and unweighted results and consistency with the discrete method. Infit and outfit metrics, alongside measures of reliability and residual correlations, were all within the expected range. We conclude that the FIES administered as part of Wave 20 of the HILDA survey was a suitable instrument for measuring the prevalence of FI at a representative population level. Although Australia has been measuring FI for 40 years, it has been characterised by measurement inconsistency, inadequacy and infrequency, resulting in insufficient data for policymaking. Reliable representative population estimates of the extent of FI in Australia provides critical intelligence for an effective policy response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims Design, setting and participants Measurements Findings Conclusions Research examining how alcohol consumption changed across different socio‐demographic groups during the pandemic has largely relied upon convenience samples recruited after the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to measure whether the pandemic shifted alcohol consumption in different gender, age and income groups in Australia.This was a longitudinal study using four waves (2017–20) of the annual Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey to compare pre‐pandemic consumption (2017–19) with consumption in 2020. A total of 11 636 participants in Australia aged 15 years and older took part.Participants were asked annually about their alcohol consumption, demographics and income.There was a statistically significant increase in alcohol consumption during the first year of the pandemic [incident rate ratio (IRR) = 1.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.1, 1.1], largely driven by changes in drinking frequency. We found a significant difference in consumption change from pre‐COVID‐19 to during COVID‐19 for participants aged under 55 years compared with those aged over 55 years. In addition, participants aged 15–34 reported less alcohol consumption during the pandemic than those aged 35 years and older. No significant differences were identified across gender and income groups.Alcohol consumption in Australia increased during the first year of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Survey participants aged 55 years and over seemed to be the least impacted by the public health measures introduced during the pandemic, such as the closure of licensed premises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effect of work–family conflict (WFC) and work–family enhancement (WFE) on the wellbeing of the self-employed and their spouses. Adopting a dyadic perspective, our analysis focuses on three dimensions of wellbeing: physical health, mental health and life satisfaction. Using the Spillover and Crossover Model as theoretical framework and the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model as an estimation technique, we investigate how work–family conflict and enhancement among the self-employed and their spouses were associated to their individual and mutual wellbeing. The analysis revealed a strong actor and partner effect, such that one's own perception of WFC undermined the wellbeing for both the self-employed and their spouses. Further, WFE was associated with an improvement in wellbeing, mainly for the self-employed, and not their spouses. The results partially supported the 'crossover hypothesis', suggesting that launching a new business is a stressful endeavour at the dyadic level of the self-employed and their spouses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trust in Australian political institutions has declined markedly since 2007. Trust scholars and social capital theorists argue that institutional trust affects social trust, which implies that declining trust in political institutions should also reduce social trust. However, using data from the Australian Election Study, World Values Survey and HILDA panel study, I find no evidence of any aggregate-level decline in Australian social trust since 2007. While this could be a result of the 'coup era' in Australian politics from 2010 to 2018, a better explanation is that social trust remained high because permanent changes in trust occur primarily among younger people. A long-term decline through generational replacement therefore remains possible. This challenges both social capital theory and institutional theories of social trust, but would explain the experiences of other advanced democracies during episodes of political crisis, including New Zealand, Greece, Finland, Japan, Sweden, Spain and the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years mental health disparity has been rising in Australia. The contributing factors to this rising disparity are not well understood. We investigated this by measuring and decomposing socioeconomic mental health inequality in Australia using the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) panel survey datasets between 2009 and 2017 employing the longitudinal factor decomposition method. In this research, we decompose the Income-Related Health Mobility (IRHM) and the Health-Related Income Mobility (HRIM) index. The IRHM index reflects the effect of the relationship between relative health changes at a constant income level, and the HRIM index represents changes in income ranking or income mobility with a fixed health outcome over time. Our findings suggest that poorer individuals cannot procure private health insurance, experience more long-term health conditions and have larger exposure to life shocks than richer individuals. Thus, long-term health conditions, private health insurance coverage, and number of life disruptions are the primary factors that negatively impact the IRHM index, thereby contributing to an increase in socioeconomic inequality in mental health in Australia. Moreover, the HRIM index exhibits a more pronounced adverse impact from labour force status compared to the relatively weaker positive effects observed in the IRHM index, resulting in a net negative effect from labour force status in this period. To address this, Australian governments should focus on implementing cost-effective intervention policies targeting disadvantaged populations to maximise health system resources and minimise mental health disparity by addressing the socioeconomic determinants of mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Obesity is a significant public health issue. With obesity increasing worldwide, risk factors for obesity need to be better understood and require careful examination. This study aims to examine mental health as a risk factor for obesity using longitudinal data from Australia. Design/methodology/approach – The main identification strategy relies on the recent death of a close friend and a serious injury or illness to a family member as exogenous shocks to mental health. Findings – The authors’ preferred estimates, which account for the endogeneity of mental health, suggest that mental health has a significant negative impact on obesity. This result proves to be robust to a suite of sensitivity checks. Further investigations reveal that poor mental health leads to increased smoking, which also has an effect on obesity. Originality/value – The study’s findings provide a new perspective on how good mental health helps curb obesity.

AbstractAimsMethodsResultsConclusionsProblem gambling has downstream consequences on individuals, families and the community. While a strong research base now exists on predictors and outcomes of problem gambling risk and severity, few studies have examined the transitions in gambling risk status over time, and factors associated with these transitions.The current study addresses this knowledge gap by examining gambling transitions using two waves of longitudinal, population-representative Australian data (N = 12,364) collected in 2015 and 2018. Focal to our approach is the assessment of predictors of gambling risk status including demographics, and key psychosocial factors that might attenuate the risk of transition into more severe gambling.The results show significant stability in gambling risk over time, particularly among individuals who reported no or low gambling risk. Gambling risk transitions were more likely to occur toward less severe than more severe levels of gambling. Furthermore, gambling problems tended to persist in more severe levels of gambling risk. Financial hardship, younger age, male gender, experience of hardship, lower levels of educational attainment, chronic health conditions, risky levels of alcohol consumption, living in low SES areas, and low sense of mastery were associated with transitions from low to more severe gambling over the three-year period. There were no significant predictors of transitions to lower levels of gambling risk in the current data.Our findings can help inform public health interventions by better targeting individuals at elevated risk for more severe gambling over time, and we outline a method for analyzing transitions in longitudinal datasets that can be applied in future studies in addiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personality traits are typically assumed to predict psychological distress, with little attention paid to the potential influence of psychological distress on personality traits. Recent empirical findings, however, challenge this prevailing view by demonstrating the potential for personality traits to change and suggesting the plausible influence of chronic distress on these traits. This study aimed to examine the mutual within‐person associations between psychological distress and the Big Five personality traits. The primary research question was whether a change in psychological distress is associated with a change in personality traits (and vice versa) after approximately 4 years. A nationally representative sample from Australia (N = 22,837), collected at four time points over 13 years, was used. The random‐intercept cross‐lagged panel model was used to partition variance into between‐person and within‐person components. Results showed that there was no temporal within‐person association between openness and distress. Extraversion and conscientiousness were found to have bidirectional within‐person relationships with distress, suggesting that increases in extraversion and conscientiousness are associated with decreases in distress over time and vice versa. Emotional stability and agreeableness showed unidirectional relationships with distress, with increased distress predicting decreased emotional stability and increased agreeableness predicting decreased distress. Therefore, except for openness, the other traits had at least one significant within‐person link to psychological distress. These findings unveil a reciprocal longitudinal linkage between personality traits and psychological distress, highlighting the potential negative impact of prolonged psychological distress on the developmental trajectory of personality traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food security remains a global public health priority but there may be bias in the prevalence of household food insecurity, depending upon who answers the questions. Using a cross‐section from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, we analysed components of food insecurity reported separately by both partners in 718 households, allowing examination of discrepancies among couples. We modelled discrepancy in reports of food insecurity on 8 items using binary logit models for each question and a binomial regression for the number of questions on which there was discrepancy. Among couples who differed on an item, (conditional) discrepancy rates ranged from 71.75% to 85.86%. Females were more likely than males to report food insecurity on most items. Key characteristics associated with discrepancy were female's and male's age, female's education, being born in Australia, renting and male's employment. Male's age and birthplace were associated with discrepancy on more items while male's higher education and being a homeowner were associated with discrepancy on fewer items. Among couples who differed in responses, females were more likely to report food insecurity if they were older or had a disability, if their male partner was younger or had no disability, or if either person had more education than high school. The prevalence of food insecurity among couple households may be underestimated by 7.4 percentage points due to discrepancies in reporting. Discrepancies can reduce the accuracy of measures of food insecurity, impeding the targeting of responses, and lead to a less efficient allocation of resources to combat food insecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cusp spot, High Latitude Dayside aurora (HiLDA), ‘space hurricane’, and 15MLT-PCA (Polar Cap Arc observed around 15:00 Magnetic Local Time) are mesoscale auroral structures observed in the polar cap region. They share many common properties and, at the same time, have notable differences. A 15MLT-PCA is a polar cap arc connected to the auroral oval, but the others are auroral spots detached from the oval. A cusp spot differs from a HiLDA in local time location. A space hurricane differs from a HiLDA in having spiral-arm structures. Until now, relationships among these auroras have not been depicted clearly. Here we propose a unified model, based on lobe reconnection, that encompasses their similarities and differences. We then provide critical supporting evidence for the model. The model suggests that different reconnection sites under different IMF conditions result in these differently-appearing auroral forms. The model explains all the characteristic features of these auroras and has implications for understanding the dawn/dusk and inter-hemispheric asymmetries observed in their occurrence patterns. We anticipate confirmation of the model by observations to be made during the Solar wind-Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission. Moreover, since the model indicates that these auroras appear on the footprint of the poleward cusp boundary, we expect data from the SMILE mission to make it possible to estimate the approximate shape of the cusp.

Recent years have seen growing concern about the 'hollowing out' of the middle class, due to processes of polarisation. In this paper, we examine different conceptualisations of polarisation, and introduce the concept of expenditure-adjusted polarisation that considers not only income, but also various key categories of expenditure at a household level: housing, groceries and meals, transport and energy. Analysing longitudinal data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, we show that the Australian society is significantly more polarised, with fewer middle-income households, when the relative size of income groups in a given year is based on expenditure-adjusted income rather than pre-expenditure income. Such polarisation is particularly prominent when housing expenditure is considered and has distinctive spatial patterns. In contrast, our analysis finds no evidence of a temporal pattern of polarisation in Australia between 2005 and 2019, with no substantial change in the size of income groups over time, regardless of which income measures are used. We argue that a more nuanced conceptualisation of polarisation, and its relation to processes of 'hollowing out' and rising inequality, is needed to inform urban scholarship and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanism that forms the different resonant families of the asteroid belt between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars is not completely understood. To study the resonant capture mechanism and the origin of orbits of some asteroid families in mean motion resonances with Jupiter, furthermore to give a possible explanation of this problem, we performed in situ numerical simulations of the 3-dimensional semi-analytical model of the Sun-Jupiter-particle system. We examined the numbers and orbits of particles captured along the Jupiter's present orbit (including the L3, L4 and L5 Lagrange points) for 7000 Jupiter years. In our simulations we did not distinguish between planetesimals, interplanetary dust and asteroids, because we investigated the restricted three-body problem taking into account only gravitation. We found that the asteroid families in 4:3, 1:1, 4:5, 3:4, 2:3, 5:8, 4:7 and 5:9 resonances may have formed from the asteroids captured, launched and kept on their orbits not only by the L4 and L5 points, but also by the unstable L3 point and certain areas along the Jupiter's path. Furthermore, we found possible new asteroid families in 4:5 and 3:4 resonances, no any member of which have yet been identified. Thus, Jupiter forms a shield which protects the inner Solar System from asteroids moving with speeds not significantly differing from that of Jupiter. • Our aim is to demonstrate the resonant capture mechanism of dynamically cold particles along the Jupiter's orbit. • We performed in situ simulations of the 3D semi-analytical model of the Sun-Jupiter-particle system. • The capture efficiency of both the L4 and L5 points at the Jupiter's aphelion is 24% higher than at its perihelion. • The particles captured along the Jupiter's present orbit form the 1:1, 4:3, 4:5, 3:4, 2:3, 5:8, 4:7, 5:9 resonance families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subjective well‐being is associated with many positive health outcomes. However, little is known about whether these favourable outcomes translate into a reduction in the number of doctor visits. Using large‐scale panel data from Australia, we find that individuals with high life satisfaction need fewer visits to their family doctor or general practitioner. We also present evidence on the pathways underlying this relationship, showing it is significantly explained by a person's diet. These findings remain after correcting for sample selection bias using Heckman's approach as well as controlling for various confounding factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Occupational surveys of doctors consistently show higher rates of depression and anxiety than reported in general population surveys, findings replicated in all other occupational groups, suggesting potential selection bias. We evaluated the comparative mental health of different occupations in Australia from the same sampling frame over the past 6 years and assessed whether COVID-19 differentially affected different occupational groups. Methods: We analysed six annual data waves (2015–2020) from the nationally representative 'Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia' study. Mental health (Mental Health Inventory–5 from the 36-Item Short Form Survey) and life satisfaction scores of doctors over this period were compared with five other professions and all other employees. Regression models were adjusted for age, gender, income and work hours. Two-way analysis of variance examined the comparative changes in mental health among occupations between 2019 and after exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2020. Results: The sample of 15,174 employed respondents included 106 doctors. The 5-year mean mental health score for doctors (M = 78.7; SD = 13.1) was significantly higher than that for teachers (M = 75.6; SD = 14.9), nurses and midwives (M = 76.6; SD = 15.9), lawyers (M = 74.2; SD = 16.1), accountants (M = 74.2; SD = 16.5) and all other employed respondents (M = 73.1, SD = 16.7) (p < 0.001). Cognitive wellbeing comparisons were similar. There were no significant changes in professionals' mental health over this period except for an improvement in engineers and a decline for teachers. From 2019 to 2020, all occupations suffered mental health declines without any significant inter-occupational differences. Conclusion: Australian doctors identified from a population-based sample rather than occupational surveys reported better levels of mental health and greater life satisfaction than most professions prior to COVID-19 without experiencing the worsening seen in the general employed population over the past 5 years. From 2020, there was a mental health decline in all of the employed population, not disproportionately affecting doctors. Although over-representing Australian trained general practitioners, the results from both this sample and other tentative findings challenge the discourse in medical advocacy, but need more formal comparative studies to confirm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite anecdotal evidence of a COVID-19 induced decline in the intensity of interstate migration in Australia, population-level evidence is limited. The recent release of the 2020 wave of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey provides a unique opportunity to robustly assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the level, direction, determinants, and reasons for migration in Australia. By applying a series of regression models to individual-level longitudinal microdata, and measuring migration at a range of spatial scales, this paper shows that COVID-19 has somewhat accelerated the long-term decline in the intensity of internal migration--particularly for residential mobility, short-distance migration, and migration due to employment and involuntary reasons. The sociodemographic determinants of migration have remained broadly stable, despite a slight increase in the deterring effect of duration of residence and a reduction in the impact of education. Finally, we show that the increase in net migration gains in regional areas is underpinned by a decrease in outflows. Juxtaposing these results with aggregate-level migration statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics from 2021, we conclude that the effect of COVID-19 on internal migration to date has been minimal and is likely to be short-lived. However, it may still be too soon to make a definitive judgement, as shifts in work patterns stemming from the pandemic may further transform the level, direction, and composition of internal migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the stability of 10 symptoms of psychological distress measured by the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) in an Australian adult sample. Data were collected at seven time points, 2 years apart, between 2007 and 2019. The average stability of the 10 symptoms was 49%. However, there were differences between items. The items can be categorised based on two characteristics: Degree of extremity and arousal. More extreme symptoms (i.e., those beginning with 'so', such as 'so sad that...') tended to change more over time, whereas milder symptoms (e.g., "nervous") tended to be more stable. Symptoms with low levels of arousal (e.g., 'hopeless') tended to reflect more situation‐specific influences, whereas symptoms with high levels of arousal (e.g., 'restless or fidgety') tended to reflect more nonsystematic influences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the stability of satisfaction with eight domains of life as well as satisfaction with life in general. The study used a nationally representative Australian sample collected during 20 years between 2001 and 2020 (N = 33,341). Using the Multi-Trait-Multi-State model, the total variance in each item was partitioned into three components: common consistency (proportion of variance attributable to stable influences), occasion specificity (proportion of variance attributable to situational influences or person-situation interactions), and measurement error (proportion of variance attributable to random and nonsystematic influences). The consistency, specificity, and error estimates for the nine items averaged about 48%, 11%, and 41%, respectively. Satisfaction with health, financial situation, and general life was more stable than variable, whereas the other domains were more variable than stable. The most stable item was satisfaction with health and the least stable was satisfaction with the home in which one lives. On average, domain satisfaction was less stable than general life satisfaction. Satisfaction with housing, safety, and health were the best predictors of general life satisfaction. A supplementary analysis showed that life evaluations were less stable in young adulthood than in older age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macroeconomic forecasts and program evaluations of health service interventions are pessimistic about ageing populations, given their low work participation and high demand for social services. We estimate the impact of heart disease on paid work and the value of unpaid non‐market activities of the Australian elderly, using Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) data, finding significant losses in the value of their contributions to adult care and voluntary work. Impacts on non‐market contributions of older women were more significant than for older men. A broader perspective on the value of the contributions made by the elderly is needed to enhance efficiency and (gender) equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We test for differences in subjective well-being across four pre-defined generations in Australia born between 1928 and 1994: The Lucky Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. We focus on overall life satisfaction and range of domain satisfactions. We find that Baby Boomers are less satisfied with life than thosce born before and after them. We observe similar patterns when considering domains such as finances and housing. However, differences in satisfaction with employment opportunities show the opposite pattern, with Baby Boomers and Generation X's reporting higher satisfaction as compared to the Lucky Generation and especially those from Generation Y. Family and labour marketcv status have greater effects than cohort of birth on many of the domains studied; however, the cohort effects are significant and non-negligible, particularly concerning satisfaction with life, employment opportunities, and housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Luke Pearson's comic for children, Hilda and the Black Hound (2017), introduces characters who live at the margins of society and who respond to those marginalising forces not with outright resistance but with what Monalesia Earle has called 'misdirection'. As the characters move around and through the gutters of the comics page, they similarly slip between and around the authority that stands in their way. Literary theories related to formalism, children's literature and the Gothic illuminate how the movement on the page hints at a form of disobedience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last few decades have seen the intensity of internal migration decline in Australia and other advanced economies including the United States. Recent evidence suggests that changes in the composition of the population alone do not account for this persistent downward trend. This has led migration scholars to suspect that more profound behavioural changes driven by social, economic, and technological transformations are at play and that shifts in migration behaviour are likely to be reflected in changes in reasons for migration. We use data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey to shed new light on the factors driving the decline in internal migration in Australia between 2002 and 2018. This is done by examining annual trends in self-reported reasons for intrastate and interstate migration and applying a series of pooled logistic regressions. Results reveal a decline across all reasons for migration, and not only employment-related migration contrary to explanations proposed in the extant literature. The decline in employment-related migration does not appear to be the result of a rise in alternative forms of mobility such as teleworking or substitution with inter-industry or occupation mobility. Furthermore, we also find that the negative effect of duration of residence has increased for family-related migration. Collectively, these findings suggest that behavioural change, particularly increased place attachment, may have contributed to the decline in internal migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the social-ecological systems perspective of health, this study explores whether the deteriorating trend of immigrant health over time differs depending on immigrants' pre-migration macro-level factors in their birth country. Using the Household, Income, and Labor Dynamics in Australia survey (N = 1,847), we conducted an HLM analysis to examine the association among GDP per capita in the birth country, length of stay, and immigrants' health status post-migration. Support was found for both the negative association between the length of stay and health and the positive association between the GDP of the birth country and health. The negative association between length of stay and health was stronger among immigrants from low GDP countries compared to those from high GDP countries. Our findings suggest the importance of the population-level characteristics of the birth country in understanding healthy immigrant effect post-migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper's aim is to propose a mediation framework and test whether lifestyle choices and social capital are pathways through which baseline levels of well-being affect subsequent physical health among older adults. Using large-scale panel data for Australia, we find that past levels of well-being have strong direct effects on present physical health. We also show that more frequent socialization and more frequent participation in physical activity are two pathways through which higher levels of well-being lead to better physical health. These mediating effects vary across gender. Our findings highlight a protective role of subjective well-being in physical health. Interventions taking into account not only the direct but also the indirect effects of well-being are promising avenues for physical health maintenance in the older population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the dynamic relationship between physical and mental health. We ask whether and to what extent mental health affects subsequent physical health, and drawing eight waves of panel data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia (HILDA) Survey, use a dynamic panel estimator with instrumental variables for identification. We find that good past mental health promotes present physical health. We also show that good past physical health predicts good present physical health. Our findings imply that policies and intervention programs should focus on helping individuals with mental health conditions to reduce the risk of negative spillover effects on their physical health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Polypharmacy, the use of multiple medications by one individual, may be associated with adverse health outcomes including poor cognition. However, it remains unclear whether a longitudinal relationship exists.Objectives: To investigate the association between polypharmacy and 3-year cognitive ability in older adults.Methods: A longitudinal cohort study of older adults 65 years and older, residing in the community, who participated in waves 12 (2012), 13 (2013) and 16 (2016) of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics (HILDA) Survey was conducted. Polypharmacy was defined as the regular use of 5 or more prescription medications. Cognitive ability was assessed using backwards digit span test (BDS), 25-item version of the National Adult Reading Test (NART-25) and symbol-digit modalities test (SDM). Linear regression was used to test the longitudinal association between polypharmacy and cognitive test scores at 3 years. All analyses were adjusted for age, sex, education, comorbidities, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors, and baseline cognitive test scores.Results: A total of 2141 participants (mean age 72.9 years, 54.4% female) were included in the study sample. Polypharmacy was present in 27.3%. After adjusting for potential confounders, polypharmacy was negatively associated with cognitive ability at 3 years: BDS: -0.067 (95% CI = -0.353 to -0.051), NART-25: -0.071 (95% CI = -1.428 to -0.294), SDM: -0.073 (95% CI = -2.960 to -0.696).Conclusion: Polypharmacy was associated with poorer cognitive ability at 3 years, even after adjusting for comorbidities and other confounders. Future research should consider the long-term impact of polypharmacy on cognitive ability, and identify strategies to optimise medication use and cognition in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The school‐to‐work transition is a demanding period during an individual's life course in all societies particularly because the educational decisions made during this period have long‐lasting consequences in multiple life domains. Moreover, adverse starting points after secondary school are likely to lead to adverse outcomes that might cumulate over the life course. This study analyses subjective well‐being during this sensitive period and examines the following two questions. First, how do different school‐to‐work transitions relate to subjective well‐being changes? Second, how does subjective well‐being develop during and after secondary schooling? As the school‐to‐work transition period is structured by gender, each analytical step aims to identify gender differences. Furthermore, based on life course theories, this study investigates whether adverse starting points after secondary school lead to cumulative effects in the development of subjective well‐being. Based on data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey and fixed effects regressions, our results reveal that transitions to employment increase subjective well‐being, while transitions to unemployment decrease subjective well‐being. Furthermore, transitions to study increase subjective well‐being only among men, while such transitions appear to decrease subjective well‐being among women. The results related to the development of subjective well‐being indicate that subjective well‐being decreases during secondary schooling and continues to decrease after individuals leave school. This decrease is stronger among men. Finally, our results reveal the negative cumulative effects of adverse starting points on the development of subjective well‐being. Overall, the results reveal great intra‐individual variation in subjective well‐being during the school‐to‐work transition period in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Excessive time and money spent on gambling can result in harms, not only to people experiencing a gambling problem but also to their close family and friends ("concerned significant others"; CSOs). The current study aimed to explore whether, and to what extent, CSOs experience decrements to their wellbeing due to another person's gambling. Methods: We analysed data from The Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA; N = 19,064) and the Canadian Quinte Longitudinal Study (QLS; N = 3,904). Participants either self-identified as CSOs (QLS) or were identified by living in a household with a person classified in the problem gambling category by the PGSI (HILDA). Subjective well-being was measured using the Personal Wellbeing Index and single-item questions on happiness and satisfaction with life. Results: CSOs reported lower subjective wellbeing than non-CSOs across both countries and on all three wellbeing measures. CSO status remained a significant predictor of lower wellbeing after controlling for demographic and socio-economic factors, and own-gambling problems. There were no significant differences across various relationships to the gambler, by gender, or between household and non-household CSOs. Discussion and Conclusions: Gambling-related harms experienced by CSOs was reliably associated with a decrease in wellbeing. This decrement to CSO's wellbeing was not as strong as that experienced by the person with the first-order gambling problem. Nevertheless, wellbeing decrements to CSOs are not limited to those living with a person with gambling problems in the household and thus affect many people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background This study aimed to examine the healthcare-seeking (hospital, primary and preventive care) and healthcare utilisation behaviour of patients with private health insurance (PHI) in Australia. It also aimed to examine the socioeconomic, demographic and lifestyle factors that influence the choice of hospital care in Australia. Method A logistic regression model with repeated measure t-test and Pearson’s Chi-square test were used to identify the factors that affect the choice of care. Data from waves 9 (2009) and 13 (2013) of the nationally-representative Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey were used in the analysis. Results Patients with PHI had a higher number of hospital nights’ stay despite having a lower number of hospital admissions than those without private cover. Significant disparities were identified in preventive and specialist care use between patients with cover and without cover. No significant variations were observed in healthcare utilisation for PHI patients before and after dropping PHI. One in four patients chose to use public hospitals despite holding PHI cover. Moreover, those insured and from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and those who were younger and without long-term health conditions showed a higher probability of selecting public rather than private care. Conclusions It is evident that PHI cover encourages people to use private care. However, a considerable number of PHI patients are using public care, even though eligible for private care may indicate consumer information asymmetry.

Background: Health status is a crucial determinant of an individuals’ labour market outcomes. The present study investigates the association between obesity and disability with perceived employment discrimination within Australia. Methods: A total of 17,174 person-year observations from the 11,079 respondents were analysed using four waves of data from the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. The primary outcome examined was employment discrimination, using obesity and disability as the main exposure variables. The longitudinal random-effects regression technique was applied to investigate the between-person differences in employment discrimination associated with obesity and disability. Results: The findings suggest that more than one in ten (12.68 %) Australians experienced employment discrimination. The odds of being discriminated against while applying for a job were 1.56 times (aOR: 1.56, 95 % CI: 1.15–2.11) higher for obese than their healthy weight counterparts in youngest women. Adults with a disability had 1.89 times (aOR: 1.89, 95 % CI: 1.65–2.17) higher odds of being discriminated against than peers without disability. Conclusion: The results provide evidence that obesity and disability contribute to employment discrimination in Australia. The findings can assist government and related agencies to consider the adequacy of existing discrimination legislation and help organisations to develop appropriate policies to address discrimination against obese and disabled people in their workplaces.

A fundamental question for society is how much happiness does a dollar buy? The accepted view among economists and psychologists is that income has diminishing marginal returns on happiness: money and happiness increase together up to a point after which there is relatively little further gain. In this paper we estimate the relationship between income and subjective wellbeing over a 19-year period focusing on where the greatest change in the marginal return on income occurs and whether this change point has shifted over time. We formally test for the presence of a change point as well as temporal changes in the relationship between income and affective wellbeing (happiness), and income and cognitive wellbeing (life satisfaction), using household economic data from Australia between 2001 and 2019. The results indicate that the change point between affective wellbeing and income has increased over those 19 years faster than inflation (i.e., cost of living). This suggests that inequalities in income may be driving increasing inequities in happiness between the rich and the poor, with implications for health and recent government policy-goals to monitor and improve wellbeing.

"An excess of everything is bad". This famous old proverb fits well with the current condition of Australian household debt that is continuously rising. Research in Australia's household indebtedness is scarce and strategies to control the rising household debt remain contentious. The government of Australia has introduced financial literacy and financial capability measures to help control the rising household debt. Given that the literature highlights the importance of improving financial wellbeing, we analyse if financial wellbeing is a factor, which could be relevant to the reduced household debt. We use the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia panel survey in our analysis and find that improved financial wellbeing is associated with the reduced debttaking behaviour of Australians. Our robust analysis confirms our findings. Finally, our empirical results suggest that improving households' perception of their personal financial situation can bring improvement in their financial decisions, including the decision to take on debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the link between individual financial profiles over time and well‐being, as measured by life satisfaction. In particular, we look at annual self‐reported financial worsening and improvement information for more than 25,000 individuals in Australian panel data from 2002 to 2017. We first find that satisfaction falls (rises) with a contemporaneous major financial worsening (improvement), with the largest correlation seen to be with financial worsening. Second, the experience of these financial events in the past continues to be linked to current well‐being. Last, only the order of financial‐improvement spells relates to well‐being: a given number of past years where finances deteriorated has the same association with current well‐being whether the deterioration occurred in one continuous spell or was interrupted. We show that these associations are heterogeneous over the distribution of well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rezwanul Hasan Rana,1,2 Khorshed Alam,1,2 Jeff Gow,1,3 Nicholas Ralph4–61School of Commerce, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia; 2Centre for Health, Informatics and Economic Research, University of Southern Queensland, Queensland, Australia; 3School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa; 4Health Systems & Psycho-Oncology, Cancer Council Queensland, Queensland, Australia; 5School of Nursing, University of Southern Queensland, Queensland, Australia; 6St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Queensland, AustraliaObjective: The purpose of this study is to measure health care utilization in Australian cancer patients based on their demographic, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds.Method: A total of 13,609 participants (aged 15 and over) from 7,230 households were interviewed as part of Wave 13 of the national Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. Five hundred and seventeen participants indicated a current cancer diagnosis with 90% of those receiving active treatment at the time of interview. Independent sample t-tests, Pearson Chi-sq tests, Kruskal‒Wallis H test, binary logistic regression and a zero-inflated Poisson regression were used to examine inequality in health care use.Results: Demographic and sociocultural factors such as advancing age, gender, low income, low education status, rurality, no private health insurance, increased psychological distress and less access to specialist care are associated with lower health care utilization among cancer patients. However, models of care such as general practitioner-led cancer care is preferable in younger individuals with cancer, while accessing specialist care is associated with lower rates of hospitalization and higher levels of psychological distress increases hospital length of stay.Conclusions: The findings of lower health care utilization by those cancer patients with characteristics of disadvantage have implications for policy development and intervention design. Broadly, policies targeting structural social inequities are likely to increase health care utilization among the most affected/disadvantaged populations. Further investigation is needed to identify potential links between health care utilization and cancer outcomes as a step toward targeted interventions for improving outcomes in the adversely affected groups.Keywords: cancer, health care utilization, primary preventive care, inequality, psychological distress, HILDA

Using three waves (2005, 2009 and 2013) of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA), and linear regression and probit analyses, we examined the relationship between personality and own earnings, spousal earnings, and marriage. Specifically, we were interested in whether an individual's personality traits re predictive of these three outcomes. As part of these analyses, we first established that adult personality was stable diminishing the probability of reverse causality. Our empirical results confirmed previous findings on the effect of own personality on own earnings. We then turned to the effect of spousal personality on earnings, the first study to examine this by gender. Regression estimates indicated that for men, having a conscientious wife was positively correlated with his earnings. There was some evidence that having an extraverted husband complement a woman's earnings. These results highlight the importance of non-cognitive skills on earnings and emphasize the value of looking separately by gender. We also found that personality traits played an important factor in how people match in the marriage market, underscoring an important link between the marriage market and the labor market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We estimate hazard rates of retirement entry as a function of the option value of work. Individuals' economic expectations about the future economy are represented as expectations about rates of return on superannuation retirement savings. These are incorporated into the option value of work, through which they can impact on the timing of retirement entry. We find that individuals have an incentive not to leave the labour force when they expect high returns on their pension savings, while still working. In a scenario where individuals expect negative returns, the average annual hazard rate of retirement entry of 6.9 percent is increased by 0.2 percentage points (or 2.9 percent) compared to a scenario where individuals expect strong positive returns. Rudimentary calculations find an implied tax revenue loss of $26.7 million. Given that the expectations in this model are short‐term and merely perceived, holding real economic conditions constant, this effect is sizable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subjective well-being is one of the most frequently used indicators in comparative and social indicators research. Although there is a plethora of research examining the associations between levels of subjective well-being and individual factors such as age, gender, education, health, marital status and employment status, less is known about period effects. In this paper, we seek to examine whether levels of subjective well-being of various age cohorts vary across four time points in Australia and Switzerland. We draw on data collected by the Swiss Household Panel and the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia projects between 2001 and 2016 to compare trends within and between these two countries across time. These data allow us to examine the effects of different institutional settings and economic conditions on levels of subjective well-being. Our analysis shows, firstly, for both countries a similar age effect with a nonlinear U-shaped relationship between age and subjective well-being. Secondly, we find consistently lower levels of subjective well-being in Australia for the cohort born between 1961 and 1965 whereas no such period effect could be observed for Switzerland. Thirdly, while marital status, age and being unemployed have similar effects on levels of subjective well-being in both countries, patterns in the effects of other indicators differ. For example, after controlling for sex, age, household income, marital status, employment status and health, education is positively associated with subjective well-being in Switzerland but negatively associated with subjective well-being in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to examine the healthcare-seeking (hospital, primary and preventive care) and healthcare utilisation behaviour of patients with private health insurance (PHI) in Australia. It also aimed to examine the socioeconomic, demographic and lifestyle factors that influence the choice of hospital care in Australia.Method: A logistic regression model with repeated measure t-test and Pearson's Chi-square test were used to identify the factors that affect the choice of care. Data from waves 9 (2009) and 13 (2013) of the nationally-representative Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey were used in the analysis.Results: Patients with PHI had a higher number of hospital nights' stay despite having a lower number of hospital admissions than those without private cover. Significant disparities were identified in preventive and specialist care use between patients with cover and without cover. No significant variations were observed in healthcare utilisation for PHI patients before and after dropping PHI. One in four patients chose to use public hospitals despite holding PHI cover. Moreover, those insured and from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and those who were younger and without long-term health conditions showed a higher probability of selecting public rather than private care.Conclusions: It is evident that PHI cover encourages people to use private care. However, a considerable number of PHI patients are using public care, even though eligible for private care may indicate consumer information asymmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]