노인의 다차원적 빈곤이 정신건강에 미치는 영향에 관한 종단연구

As socioeconomic polarization in Korea has deepened, the gap in access to economic resources and opportunities in both economic and non-economic aspects between wealthy and poor older adults has increased. In particular, the economic and non-economic difficulties experienced by poor older adults are linked to psychosocial stress, which can result in deteriorating mental health. In this context, the purpose of this study is to longitudinally examine the impact of multidimensional poverty on mental health among older adults in Korea based on social causation theory. Using data from the Korea Welfare Panel Study covering the 7th to the 17th waves (2012~2022), this study constructed an unbalanced panel data that consisted of older adults who were aged 65 and over as of the 7th wave (2012). For longitudinal data analysis, a fixed effects model was conducted. Multidimensional poverty was conceptualized using six dimensions: income, assets, housing, health, relationships, and social participation. Mental health was measured using two indices: depression and suicidal ideation. First, results indicated that experiencing higher levels of multidimensional poverty had a significant positive impact on depression controlling for other relevant variables. Second, results indicated that experiencing higher levels of multidimensional poverty had a significant positive impact on suicidal ideation purged of other relevant variables. Third, the impacts of three dimensions of poverty such as relationships, social participation, and health on depression and suicidal ideation were relatively stronger compared with other dimensions of poverty. Based on these findings, the study discussed the policy and practice implications for preventing or reducing the risk of depression and suicidal ideation among older adults.