Table 6 Variable definitions and summary statistics

MHI-5 (Mental Health Inventory)

Sub-scale of the SF-36 Health Survey that measures mental health. Scores are standardised to range from 0 to 100.

76.298 (15.815)

74.149 (16.512)

76.149 (15.653)

71.865 (17.119)

Wife’s (husband’s) job loss

Equals 1 if partner reported involuntary job loss (got laid off/no work available/retrenched/made redundant/employer or business went out of business/dismissed) since last interview.

0.017 (0.131)

0.030 (0.172)

–

–

Father’s job loss

Equals 1 if father reported involuntary job loss since last interview.

–

–

0.031 (0.174)

0.029 (0.168)

Mother’s job loss

Equals 1 if mother reported involuntary job loss since last interview.

–

–

0.021 (0.145)

0.022 (0.148)

Partner employed

Equals 1 if partner was employed at the last interview.

0.721 (0.448)

0.885 (0.319)

Partner ceased job (other reason)

Equals 1 if partner was employed at the last interview but ceased employment in that job for any reason other than involuntary job loss.

0.121 (0.326)

0.110 (0.313)

Father employed

Equals 1 if father was employed at the last interview.

0.897 (0.305)

0.916 (0.278)

Father ceased job (other reason)

Equals 1 if father was employed at the last interview but ceased employment in that job for any reason other than involuntary job loss.

0.077 (0.266)

0.069 (0.253)

Mother employed

Equals 1 if mother was employed at the last interview.

0.744 (0.436)

0.761 (0.427)

Mother ceased job (other reason)

Equals 1 if mother was employed at the last interview but ceased employment in that job for any reason other than involuntary job loss.

0.085 (0.280)

0.083 (0.277)

Cash flow problems (t − 1)

Equals 1 if reported experiencing at least one of the following financial stresses at least once since the start of the year because of a shortage of money: could not pay rent or mortgage on time; could not pay electricity, gas, or telephone bills on time; or asked for financial help from friends or family. Values are lagged one period.

0.182 (0.386)

0.203 (0.402)

–

–

Financial hardship (t − 1)

Equals 1 if reported experiencing at least one of the following financial stresses at least once since the start of the year because of a shortage of money: pawned or sold something, went without meals, unable to heat home, or asked for help from welfare/community organisations. Values are lagged one period.

0.071 (0.257)

0.068 (0.251)

–

–

Dissatisfaction with partner (t − 1)

Score on a 0 to 10 scale, where 0 represents completely satisfied and 10 completely dissatisfied, lagged one period.

1.555 (1.777)

1.757 (1.926)

–

–

Age

Age (in years) at 30th June in year prior to interview.

43.891 (11.199)

41.478 (10.958)

17.178 (1.646)

17.121 (1.632)

Any children

Equals 1 if there are any children aged less than 15 years in the household.

0.474 (0.499)

0.483 (0.500)

0.439 (0.496)

0.434 (0.496)

# children

Number of own children aged less than 15 years living with respondent.

1.179 (1.216)

1.276 (1.249)

–

–

# adults

Number of persons aged 15 years or more living in the household.

2.425 (0.799)

2.425 (0.800)

3.466 (1.038)

3.481 (1.075)

Lone parent household

Equals 1 if it is a lone parent household.

–

–

0.232 (0.422)

0.224 (0.417)

Mild disability

Equals 1 if respondent has a restrictive long-term health condition or disability that does not limit work. (Persons who only reported having a mental illness are excluded.)

0.081 (0.273)

0.062 (0.241)

0.062 (0.241)

0.056 (0.229)

Moderate disability

Equals 1 if respondent has a restrictive long-term health condition that limits work, but not totally. (Persons who only reported having a mental illness are excluded.)

0.133 (0.339)

0.125 (0.331)

0.047 (0.212)

0.061 (0.240)

Severe disability

Equals 1 if respondent has a restrictive long-term health condition that prevents any work being undertaken. (Persons who only reported having a mental illness are excluded.)

0.004 (0.063)

0.003 (0.050)

0.0004 (0.019)

0.001 (0.031)

Physical health

Physical functioning sub-scale of the SF-36 Health Survey. Scores are standardised to range from 0 to 100.

87.911 (19.342)

86.903 (18.944)

91.963 (20.134)

92.110 (18.017)

NLF

Equals 1 if respondent is not in the labour force (i.e., not employed and not actively seeking work) in the reference week of interview.

0.103 (0.304)

0.266 (0.442)

0.333 (0.471)

0.312 (0.463)

Unemployed

Equals 1 if respondent is not employed in the reference week of interview but is actively seeking work.

0.019 (0.135)

0.022 (0.146)

0.111 (0.314)

0.085 (0.279)

Prefer fewer hours

Equals 1 if respondent is employed in the reference week of interview but would prefer to work fewer hours.

0.302 (0.459)

0.202 (0.402)

0.029 (0.169)

0.039 (0.193)

Prefer more hours

Equals 1 if respondent is employed in the reference week of interview but would prefer to work more hours.

0.077 (0.267)

0.089 (0.285)

0.196 (0.397)

0.194 (0.396)

Full-time student

Equals 1 if respondent is a full-time student, either at school or studying full time, at the time of interview.

–

–

0.666 (0.472)

0.722 (0.448)

Homeowner

Equals 1 if respondent lives in a household where a member owns, or is paying the mortgage on, the place of residence.

0.782 (0.413)

0.779 (0.415)

0.757 (0.429)

0.768 (0.422)

Home equity

Estimated resale value of residence less value of outstanding home loans ($m at 2011–2012 prices), with missing values imputed.

0.403 (0.409)

0.402 (0.413)

0.418 (0.463)

0.439 (0.510)

Regional unemployment

The official unemployment rate in the major statistical region for October of the interview year, and sourced from ABS, Labour Force, Australia, Detailed - Electronic Delivery (ABS cat. no. 6291.0.55.001), Table 02: labour force status by state, capital city/balance of state and sex.

4.954 (1.048)

4.953 (1.048)

4.959 (1.024)

4.910 (1.029)

Inner regional

Equals 1 if respondent lives in inner regional Australia (as defined in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC)).

0.257 (0.437)

0.257 (0.437)

0.254 (0.435)

0.257 (0.437)

Outer regional

Equals 1 if respondent lives in outer regional Australia (as defined in the ASGC).

0.115 (0.319)

0.115 (0.319)

0.103 (0.304)

0.097 (0.296)

Remote

Equals 1 if respondent lives in remote or very remote location in Australia (as defined in the ASGC).

0.017 (0.128)

0.017 (0.130)

0.012 (0.110)

0.012 (0.108)

SEIFA index

Decile of index of relative socio-economic advantage/disadvantage for regions, where 1 represents the highest relative disadvantage and 10 highest relative advantage (ABS 2001). It takes into account variables such as the proportion of families with high incomes, people with a tertiary education, and people employed in a skilled occupation.

5.725 (2.814)

5.723 (2.811)

5.652 (2.864)

5.731 (2.844)

Others present

Equals 1 if other adults were present during the respondent’s interview.

0.468 (0.499)

0.408 (0.492)

0.411 (0.492)

0.423 (0.494)

NR at t + 1

Equals 1 if the respondent did not respond at the next survey wave.

0.055 (0.229)

0.051 (0.219)

0.085 (0.279)

0.086 (0.280)

Separate from spouse

Equals 1 if respondent separated from partner sometime in the past year.

0.024 (0.153)

0.025 (0.157)

–

–

Left home

Equals 1 if the respondent left home sometime in the past year.

–

–

0.062 (0.242)

0.069 (0.253)