HOW MUCH OF THE EFFECT OF DISABILITY ACQUISITION ON MENTAL HEALTH IS MEDIATED THROUGH EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME? A CAUSAL MEDIATION ANALYSIS QUANTIFYING INTERVENTIONAL INDIRECT EFFECTS USING LONGITUDINAL DATA FROM WORKING AGE AUSTRALIANS

Abstract

There is evidence that disability acquisition causes a decline in mental health, but few studies have examined the causal mechanisms through which the effect operates. Our previous research examined three broad groups of socioeconomic characteristics and found that material factors, rather than psychosocial or behavioural, predominately mediated the effect. However, there remains a lack of understanding about which specific material factors drive the association, limiting the development of effective interventions to improve the mental health of people with disabilities. This study examined how much changes to employment and income mediate the effect of disability acquisition on mental healt..