Table 1_Socioeconomic inequalities in depression and the role of job conditions in China.docx

BackgroundThe rising prevalence of depression in China, coupled with a tightening job market, highlights concern for the workforce’s mental health. Although socioeconomic inequalities in depression have been well documented in high-income countries, the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and depression, along with its work-related mediators, has not been sufficiently studied in China.
MethodsThe study participants are 6,536 non-agriculturally employed working adults from the 2020 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). We build linear regression models to examine the relationship between SES and depression, using education and income as indicators of SES. We also apply a framework based on seemingly unrelated estimation (SUEST) to assess how job conditions, which include job demands and job resources, mediate this relationship.
ResultsBoth education and income are negatively associated with depression, with education’s association with depression remaining net of income. Mediation analysis reveals that the well-educated tend to occupy less demanding work with shorter working hours and lower probability of on-call duty, which partially helps explain the education-based depression gap. Higher earners experience more demanding work with longer working hours and higher probability of on-call duty, which potentially masks the income-based depression gap. Greater job resources including moderate schedule flexibility and better job security, appear to contribute to explaining the depression gap across SES.
LimitationThe cross-sectional design of this study precludes causal inferences. Not all typical job demands and resources could be included due to data limitations.
ConclusionOur study provides insights into socioeconomic inequalities in mental health in the Chinese working population, with implications for policies aimed at preventing depression and improving mental health equity.

研究背景：中国抑郁症患病率持续攀升，叠加就业市场竞争日趋激烈，使得劳动力群体的心理健康问题愈发受到关注。尽管高收入国家中抑郁症相关的社会经济不平等现象已有充分研究，但在中国，社会经济地位（SES）与抑郁症的关联及其工作相关中介机制尚未得到足够深入的探讨。
研究方法：本研究的研究对象为2020年中国家庭追踪调查（China Family Panel Studies, CFPS）中的6536名非农就业在职成年人。本研究以受教育程度与收入作为社会经济地位的衡量指标，构建线性回归模型以探究社会经济地位与抑郁症之间的关联；同时采用基于似不相关估计（seemingly unrelated estimation, SUEST）的分析框架，评估包含工作要求与工作资源在内的工作条件在该关联中的中介作用。
研究结果：受教育程度与收入均与抑郁症呈负相关，且受教育程度与抑郁症的关联在控制收入因素后依然显著。中介分析结果显示，受教育程度较高者往往从事工作要求更低、工时更短且轮班待命概率更低的工作，这一因素可部分解释受教育程度差异带来的抑郁症发病差距。而收入较高者则面临更高的工作要求、更长的工时以及更高的轮班待命概率，这一效应可能掩盖了收入差异带来的抑郁症发病差距。此外，适度的排班灵活性与更稳定的工作保障等更高水平的工作资源，似乎也有助于解释不同社会经济地位群体间的抑郁症发病差距。
研究局限：本研究采用横断面研究设计，无法进行因果推断；同时受限于数据可得性，未能纳入所有典型的工作要求与工作资源指标。
研究结论：本研究揭示了中国劳动力群体心理健康领域的社会经济不平等现象，可为抑郁症预防及心理健康公平性提升相关政策制定提供参考依据。