Mental Health and Life Satisfaction

Analyses of mental health correlates reveal differential impacts of social factors on the prevalence of mental illnesses. There is strong evidence that mental disorders are associated with socioeconomic status, with the rates of almost all disorders declining monotonically with income and education. However, socioeconomic status appears to be more powerfully related to anxiety disorders than mood disorders, suggesting indirectly that the resources associated with socioeconomic status are more protective against the onset and/or exacerbation of worries and fears than of sadness. Other social demographic factors such as age, sex, race, and marital status are also correlated with the prevalence of mental disorders.

Selected Publications

Louis, V. and Zhao, S. 2002. "Effects of Family Structure, Family SES, and Adulthood Experiences on Life Satisfaction." Journal of Family Issues 23: 986-1005.

Kessler, R. C. and Zhao, S. 1999. "Overview of Descriptive Epidemiology of Mental Disorders." Pp. 127-150 in Carol S. Aneshensel and Jo C. Phelan (eds.), Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health. New York: Plenum.

Kessler, R. C., Zhao, S., Katz, S. J., Kouzis, A. C., Frank, R. G., Edlund, M., and Leaf, P. 1999. "Past Year Use of Outpatient Services for Psychiatric Problems in the National Comorbidity Survey." The American Journal of Psychiatry 156: 115-123.

Kessler, R. C., Zhao, S. Blazer, D. G., and Swartz, M. 1997. “Prevalence, Correlates, and Course of Minor Depression and Major Depression in the National Comorbidity Survey.” Journal of Affective Disorders 45: 19-30.

Wittchen, H.-U., Zhao, S., Abelson, J. M., Abelson, J. L., and Kessler, R. C. 1996. “Reliability and Procedural Validity of UM-CIDI DSM-III-R Phobic Disorders.” Psychological Medicine 26: 1169-1177.

Wittchen, H.-U., Zhao, S., Kessler, R. C., and Eaton, W. W. 1994. "DSM-III-R Generalized Anxiety Disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey." Archives of General Psychiatry 51: 355-364.