Economic recession, parental unemployment and adolescents’ health-related quality of life and mental health outcomes in Greece

ABSTRACT

This study examines whether an association exists between parental unemployment and health-related quality of life and mental health for adolescents aged 15–18 in Athens, Greece. The gathered dataset covers the same upper high schools in two periods, 2011–2013 and 2017–2019. The study finds that parental unemployment bears an association with decreased health-related quality of life and increased adverse mental health symptoms for adolescents. Moreover, the 2011–2013 period, a period of increased parental unemployment, saw a decrease in health-related quality of life and increased adverse mental health symptoms for adolescents. In addition, parental unemployment proved more detrimental to adolescents’ health-related quality of life and mental health in 2011–2013 than in 2017–2019. The present research ranks among the first studies to examine whether parental unemployment could be associated with worse health-related quality of life and mental health for adolescents during periods of increased parental unemployment.

KEYWORDS:

• Recession
• Economic crisis
• Greece
• Unemployment
• Children
• Parental unemployment
• Health-related quality of life
• Mental health
• Adolescents

Acknowledgments

I thank the journal’s Editor-in-Chief, Ioannis N. Grigoriadis, its editorial assistant, Ümit Erol Aras, and two anonymous reviewers for feedback on the manuscript. I appreciate the study participants. I thank the Greek Orthodox Church for facilitating the data gathering. Members of the Centre for Pluralist Economics at Anglia Ruskin University and Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge have provided fruitful insights during the study. I appreciate the knowledge transfer and assistance from the Pembroke College Circle at the University of Cambridge and the Meander Research Hub.

Disclosure statement

The author has no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Data availability material

The data appendix, codes and original software estimates have been provided to the Journal and reviewers during the initial submission and revisions. The data that support the findings of this study are available on reasonable requests.

Code availability

The data appendix, codes and original software tables have been provided to the Journal and reviewers during the initial submission and revisions. The codes that support the findings of this study are available on reasonable requests.

Ethical approval

The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Approval was obtained from the ethics committee of Anglia Ruskin University, UK.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. The participants have consented to the submission of the anonymized and aggregated data to the Journal.

Additional information

Funding

The author did not receive financial support from any organization for the submitted work.

Notes on contributors

Nick Drydakis

Nick Drydakis is a Professor in Economics in the Faculty of Business and Law at Anglia Ruskin University, where he directs the Centre for Pluralist Economics. He is the Course Convenor for the Economics of Growth and Development and the Economics of Inequality and Poverty at the University of Cambridge and an Academic Associate at Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge. He collaborates with the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge as an Academic Expert. Professor Drydakis is a Research Fellow in the Institute of Labor Economics (Bonn) and Fellow in the Global Labor Organization (Essen). He is an Academic Editor at PLOS Global Public Health. Professor Drydakis has published on mobile applications, Artificial Intelligence and social and health outcomes. He has published single author articles in widely renowned journals, including: the Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society; Computers in Human Behavior; Human Relations; Social Science and Medicine; and Journal of Vocational Behavior. Professor Drydakis has worked on EU and World Bank research programmes, such as the Progress Programme, Horizon 2020, European Territorial Cooperation Programme and Knowledge Platform Programme.