Financial uncertainty indicator for poor mental health

Uncertainty over their source of income puts Australians at risk of poor mental health, a new survey has found.

The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index looked at the levels of uncertainty over receiving a regular income and how this impacted on the individual’s life.

With complete certainty of income, individuals recorded above average levels of satisfaction with their lives, said Professor Bob Cummins from Deakin University, who compiled the index.

If the certainty of income expectations is halved, then individual levels of satisfaction fall below the national average, especially in areas of future security, health and relationships.

“People can face some uncertainty over income and their levels of satisfaction only drop marginally, while their satisfaction with health and relations actually go up,” he said.

“But if you half the level of certainty of an income, then this group becomes very low and have a higher than normal risk of depression.”

The Wellbeing Index found almost 20 per cent of those questioned rated the certainty of their income as being five or less out of 10.

The index surveys 2,000 people around Australia, asking them for their level of satisfaction on a number of topics such as health, achievements, relationships and future security.

The survey, which has been run since 2001, has always produced an average satisfaction with life of between 73.4 and 76.4 out of 100.

“The Australian population is predictable on their levels of satisfaction, however, when they do feel threatened, the only solution is money,” he said.

“External resources (such as money and relationships) help to protect the individual’s wellbeing against negative challenges,” Cummins said.

“With these protective resources against the bad things in life, the person’s wellbeing is defeated and that leads to depression.”

Australian unity managing director Rohan Mead said the higher levels of personal debt are also leading to people feeling insecure about their future.

Increased personal debt means Australians have commitments to meet, with each pay cheque adding increased pressure to make sure their income is stable, Mead said.

“The findings in the index indicate that some Australians feel they are living closer to the financial edge.

“This raises questions about whether, as a nation, we are forgetting the importance of planning ahead and managing financial situations effectively to accommodate for the unexpected.”