State-event relations among indicators of susceptibility to mental distress in Wythenshawe in the UK

This paper explores the utility of concepts drawn from psychosocial theory as predictors of the proneness to mental distress among the residential population of a large suburban council estate (Wythenshawe, South Manchester). In this respect, items are selected and tested to form composite variables measuring individual ratings with regard to notions of structural risk, personal vulnerability, goal-setting behaviour, quality of life, and the frequency of life events and restricted opportunities. Mental distress is enumerated on the standard GHQ12-point scale. The design makes the distinction between composite variables that record persistent states and those which count events and aspirations immediate to the individual's present experience. To examine the consequences of this difference between indicators of prevalence and incidence, our analysis adopts a two-stage multiple regression format. The first examines these state-event interactions among the composite variables, while the second tests the separate significance of these types as predictors of GHQ12. The findings reveal significant proportions of the variation in GHQ12 are be explained either by associations with the ageing process or by those linked to subjective indicators of the quality of life. In contrast, structural deprivation correlates less significantly with the reporting of psychiatric distress in this socially homogeneous population. The discussion considers the methodological implications of these relationships for understanding common mental health problems together with their connotations for health policy. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.