(SMH5) Emerging Voices in the Sociology of Mental Health

This roundtable session gathers a panel of emerging scholars and early career researchers who will advance the tradition of the Sociology of Mental Health through substantive, theoretical, and methodological innovations. Each participant will briefly introduce their research and will respond to audience questions on their approaches, topics, and the future of mental health research in the Sociological context. This session will be interactive, and attendees are encouraged to ask questions of the emerging scholars. Tags: Health and Care, Research Methods

Organizers: Ruth Repchuck, McMaster University, Jinette Comeau, King's University College at Western University; Chairs: Jinette Comeau, King's University College at Western University, Ruth Repchuck, McMaster University

Presentations

Fahimeh Mehrabi, University of Calgary

Owning or Owing: The Impact of Homeownership Status on Loneliness through Financial Strain and Anxiety among Older Adults in Canada

Loneliness significantly impacts the health of older adults, manifesting in associations with increased disability, functional decline, heightened mortality risks, and mental health challenges. Research in gerontology often focuses on the deficits in social relationships as primary contributors to loneliness. However, the stress process perspective encourages a broader consideration of how individuals positions within the social structure impact their mental health. This framework highlights how pervasive social stressors, present across various life domains, can particularly affect those in disadvantaged positions, potentially leading to adverse mental health outcomes. An often-overlooked marker of disadvantage, especially among older adults, is housing status. In the later stages of life, homeownership could represent financial stability and asset accumulation, and homeowners were less touched by severe socioeconomic struggles. In contrast, older adults renting houses or paying mortgages were likely to face socioeconomic barriers. Also, the lack of homeownership in later years entails uncertainties and instabilities associated with renting or continuous financial pressures of mortgage payments, creating a clear economic divide between these groups. Housing status thus, emerges as a significant social stressor within the social hierarchy, affecting certain individuals more than others and playing a key role in their mental health and emotional experiences. In the current economic landscape of Canada, marked by rapidly increasing living expenses and soaring housing costs, the significance of homeownership, or the lack thereof, takes on a new dimension of relevance, particularly for the older adult population who are often more vulnerable to economic shifts. Recognizing that homeownership, mortgage payments, and renting each present unique financial and emotional challenges, this study accordingly categorizes participants into these specific housing statuses. Outright homeowners are used as the baseline for comparison, as they typically represent financial stability and security, unlike their counterparts grappling with mortgages or the unpredictability of rental living. The study employs the stress process perspective to examine how homeownership status relates to increased loneliness among older adults, a demographic often most affected by economic shifts. The stress process perspective suggests an indirect effect including different stressors. Primary social stressors, in this case, the overarching housing status, can set in motion a series of secondary stressors, potentially spiraling into other mental health challenges. Within this framework, the study examines the roles of financial strain and anxiety as key mechanisms (serial mediators) through which homeownership status may influence feelings of loneliness. While the stress process perspective typically views anxiety as an outcome, this study positions anxiety in a dual role: firstly, as an outcome of financial strain and, secondly, as a mediator that leads to loneliness. The study utilizes data from the Caregiving, Aging, and Financial Experiences (CAFE) Study, which included 3,810 participants and was conducted in 2021. The results reveal significant differences in loneliness levels among older adults based on housing status. Mortgage payers and renters show higher mean levels of loneliness compared to outright homeowners, even after adjustments for age, gender, education, and marital status. This variation in loneliness is explained through a serial mediation effect: homeownership status influences financial strain, leading to increased anxiety, which in turn contributes to heightened loneliness. This statistically significant sequential path emphasizes a cascade effect, where the lack of homeownership intensifies loneliness through financial strain and anxiety. The findings of this study represent a substantial contribution to the sociology of mental health, offering fresh perspectives that extend beyond the established narrative of financial well-beings influence on mental health. Focusing on the specific context of older Canadian adults, the study illuminates the profound impact of housing status on emotional experiences in later life. This research shifts the narrative from viewing anxiety solely as an outcome to recognizing it also as a mediating factor by showing how anxiety, stemming from financial strain acts as a bridge leading to loneliness. The results also highlight the critical need for strategies to address loneliness among older adults through an integrated approach, considering economic conditions and emotional support. Policy measures could include establishing financial support programs to lessen the burden of housing costs for older adults. Additionally, community-based interventions could aim to bolster social support networks and improve access to mental health services, thereby reducing isolation and its psychological effects, particularly for mortgage payers and renters.

Marisa Young, McMaster University; Carly Richards, McMaster University; Diana Singh, McMaster University

Distressed Communities: The Impact of Community Resources in Explaining Regional Discrepancies in Well-Being

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored disparities in mental health and well-being across Canada, revealing how emergency shutdowns disproportionately affected various communities and regions. Our study examines these disparities, focusing on the role of community resources as elements of social infrastructure in supporting residential well-being beyond traditional measures of neighborhood disadvantage. Utilizing data from the Family-Friendly Community Resources for Better Balance Health and Well-Being Study (FFCR, Young & Singh 2023) alongside individual-level data from the Canadian Work Stress and Health Study (CAN-WSH), we explore variations in mental health outcomes across Canadian regions, the contribution of community resources to these variations, and differences across select social and demographic groups. Preliminary multi-level analyses indicate regional variations in health and well-being, which are partially explained by community resources. This research highlights the significance of access to community resources in influencing mental health and well-being, contributing to a deeper understanding of the social determinants of health in Canadian residential regions.