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Health-related Quality of Life and Socio-economic Status of the Unemployed

Abstract

Unemployment has a number of negative, economic, social and psychological effects on unemployed people and their families. Lowered household income leads to a constrained fulfilment of individual and collective needs, which has a significant impact on the quality of life and perceived health condition of the unemployed. The aim of this study is the identification of relationships between the quality of life and socio-economic status of unemployed persons. The study was carried out among 403 registered unemployed persons (246 women, 157 men) from Wrocław, Poland. The main method used in the study was the diagnostic questionnaire survey. Respondents’ quality of life was assessed using the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire, and their socio-economic status with author’s own S-ESQ questionnaire. Arithmetic means and standard deviation were calculated. Correlations between respondents’ quality of life and socio-economic status were checked with the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance and Dunn’s post-hoc tests. The ex-ante level of statistical significance was set at α < 0.05. The mean health-related quality of life score of the unemployed respondents under study was higher than the mean perceived health condition score. As for the four quality of life domains, the respondents reported the highest scores in the social domain and psychological domain, followed by the physical and environmental domains. The analysis of mean scores of overall quality of life of the unemployed revealed statistically significant differences between groups of jobless Wrocław residents with regard to such factors as age, number of household members, and per capita income. Respondents’ age, education, marital status, persons per household, per capital income, and having savings were also significant differentiating factors of perceived health condition. The results of the study can be significant for public health policies in Poland and other countries at a similar level of economic development.

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Health-related Quality of Life and Socio-economic Status of the Unemployed

Author: Puciato, Daniel
Publisher: Technická Univerzita v Liberci
Year: 2020
Source: https://dspace.tul.cz/bitstreams/5a74d038-08e6-4c7c-b5a3-2239ae3e34e4/download
23
3, XXIII, 2020
Economics
DOI: 10.15240/ ul/001/2020-3-002
heal h- ela ed Quali y oF liFe
and soCio-eConomiC s a us
oF he unemployed
Daniel Pucia o1, Michał Rozpa a2, Ma ek Bugdol3,
Pio Oleśniewicz4, Helena Jáčo á5
1 WSB Uni e si y in W ocław, Facul y o Finance and Managemen , Poland, ORCID: 0000-0002-2390-6038,
[email p o ec ed]ław.pl;
2 The Je zy Kukuczka Academy o Physical Educa ion in Ka owice, Ins i u e o Spo Sciences, Poland, ORCID:
0000-0003-3571-6677, [email p o ec ed];
3 Jagiellonian Uni e si y, Facul y o Managemen and Social Communica ion, Ins i u e o Economics, Finance and
Managemen , Poland, ORCID: 0000-0001-9993-7765, [email p o ec ed];
4 Uni e si y School o Physical Educa ion in W ocław, Facul y o Physical Educa ion, Depa men o Tou ism, Poland,
ORCID: 0000-0002-0426-0630, [email p o ec ed];
5 Technical Uni e si y o Libe ec, Facul y o Economics, Depa men o Finance and Accoun ing, Czech Republic,
ORCID: 0000-0001-8622-1899, [email p o ec ed].
Abs ac : Unemploymen has a numbe o nega i e, economic, social and psychological e ec s
on unemployed people and hei amilies. Lowe ed household income leads o a cons ained
ul ilmen o indi idual and collec i e needs, which has a signi ican impac on he quali y o li e
and pe cei ed heal h condi ion o he unemployed. The aim o his s udy is he iden i ica ion o
ela ionships be ween he quali y o li e and socio-economic s a us o unemployed pe sons. The
s udy was ca ied ou among 403 egis e ed unemployed pe sons (246 women, 157 men) om
W ocław, Poland. The main me hod used in he s udy was he diagnos ic ques ionnai e su ey.
Responden s’ quali y o li e was assessed using he Wo ld Heal h O ganiza ion Quali y o Li e
(WHOQOL-BREF) ques ionnai e, and hei socio-economic s a us wi h au ho ’s own S-ESQ
ques ionnai e. A i hme ic means and s anda d de ia ion we e calcula ed. Co ela ions be ween
esponden s’ quali y o li e and socio-economic s a us we e checked wi h he K uskal-Wallis one-
way analysis o a iance and Dunn’s pos -hoc es s. The ex-an e le el o s a is ical signi icance
was se a α < 0.05. The mean heal h- ela ed quali y o li e sco e o he unemployed esponden s
unde s udy was highe han he mean pe cei ed heal h condi ion sco e. As o he ou quali y o
li e domains, he esponden s epo ed he highes sco es in he social domain and psychological
domain, ollowed by he physical and en i onmen al domains. The analysis o mean sco es o
o e all quali y o li e o he unemployed e ealed s a is ically signi ican di e ences be ween g oups
o jobless W ocław esiden s wi h ega d o such ac o s as age, numbe o household membe s,
and pe capi a income. Responden s’ age, educa ion, ma i al s a us, pe sons pe household, pe
capi al income, and ha ing sa ings we e also signi ican di e en ia ing ac o s o pe cei ed heal h
condi ion. The esul s o he s udy can be signi ican o public heal h policies in Poland and o he
coun ies a a simila le el o economic de elopmen .
Keywo ds: Quali y o li e, WHO, unemployed.
JEL Classi ica ion: I31, J10, J60.
APA S yle Ci a ion: Pucia o, D., Rozpa a, M., Bugdol, M., Oleśniewicz, P., & Jáčo á, H.
(2020). Heal h- ela ed Quali y o Li e and Socio-economic S a us o he Unemployed. E&M
Economics and Managemen , 23(3), 23–37. h ps://doi.o g/10.15240/ ul/001/2020-3-002
EM_3_2020.indd 23 27.08.2020 13:31:03
24 2020, XXIII, 3
Economics
in oduc ion
Unemploymen was he g ea es social
p oblem aced by he Poles du ing he
poli ical ans o ma ion and he ansi ion om
a cen ally planned o a ee ma ke economy.
The a e age unemploymen a e in Poland was
highe han in mos o he coun ies o Cen al
and Eas e n Eu ope. In he s udied pe iod, he
unemploymen a e amoun ed o 11.5% in 2014
and 9.7% in 2015, espec i ely (h ps://bdm.
s a .go .pl). Howe e , he e is a la ge egional
a ia ion in he unemploymen a e, which
means ha despi e he dynamic economic
g ow h, he p oblem o unemploymen s ill
a ec s ep esen a i es o many social g oups
in Poland.
Unemploymen , in pa icula long- e m
unemploymen , has a numbe o nega i e,
economic, social, and psychological e ec s
on jobless people and hei amilies. Reduced
household income leads o a ious cons ain s
o ul ilmen o indi idual and collec i e needs.
Joblessness esul s in a decline o p o essional
skills and quali ica ions, which o en hinde s
o e en p e en s a success ul e u n o wo k
(Zhang & de Figuei edo, 2018). A decline in
social ela ionships can be obse ed as well as
con lic s in amilies, sense o social exclusion,
and loss o social s anding (Vosseme e
al., 2018). The cos s a e he highes o he
unemployed indi iduals who expe ience
emo ional diso de s, low li e sa is ac ion, and
highe suscep ibili y o diseases (Tøge, 2016).
Nume ous s udies ha e indica ed he
nega i e impac o unemploymen on men al
heal h. Bu el, Missinne and B acke (2017),
obse ed such symp oms as helplessness,
us a ion, low sel -es eem, inc eased
s ess, and dep ession in jobless people. The
unemployed also expe ience a highe incidence
o psychosoma ic diso de s, e.g. hea diseases
o umo s, han he employed (Mene on e al.,
2017). Clemens, Popham and Boyle (2015),
no ed ha he all-cause mo ali y isk was
nea ly wice as high o he unemployed as
o he employed. A me a-analysis by Milne ,
Page and LaMon agne (2014) e ealed ha
unemploymen is signi ican ly co ela ed wi h
a highe ela i e isk o suicide. This obse a ion
was also sha ed by Mene on e al. (2017). Long-
e m s uc u al unemploymen was conside ed
excep ionally haza dous by Blomg en and
Valkonen (2007), la e-ca ee unemploymen by
Voss e al. (2018), and unemploymen o young
people by Kawada (2018). Madu ei a-Lima e al.
(2018) e ealed an inc eased nega i e impac
o unemploymen on heal h s a us du ing he
G ea Recession, and Heggebo (2016), du ing
an economic down u n.
The po en ial ela ionships be ween heal h
and unemploymen can be associa ed no only
wi h he nega i e, indi ec impac o joblessness
on heal h condi ion, bu also wi h he impac
o poo heal h on unemploymen . These
ela ionships we e examined by Van Zon e al.
(2017). Leona di e al. (2018) in hei s udies
o Polish, Spanish and Finnish popula ions
concluded ha ac o s ela ed o unemploymen
included physical disabili y, men al issues, and
poo eyesigh and hea ing.
In his con ex no only is an objec i e heal h
s a us impo an bu also sel -pe cei ed heal h-
ela ed quali y o li e. Ea lie s udies indica ed
ha a lowe quali y o li e index is o en
associa ed wi h he incidence o mo o unc ion
diso de s and wo se social unc ioning (Lee e
al., 2005).
A key esea ch issue is he impac o he
socio-economic si ua ion o unemployed
people on hei pe cep ion o heal h condi ion
and quali y o li e. While esea che s ha e
p e iously examined his p oblem in ela ion
o o al wo king-age popula ions (Rėklai ienė,
Bace ičienė, & And ijauskas, 2009; Huang
e al., 2015; Zhang e al., 2015) and pa ien s
(Kokalia i, 2016; Opoku-Boa eng e al.,
2017; Raymake s e al., 2018), he e ha e
been ela i ely ew s udies conce ning he
unemployed (Chinweuba e al., 2018; Yang e
al., 2016). So a no socio-economic ac o s,
such as he numbe o pe sons pe household,
wo k-un ela ed income (e.g. alimony bene i s,
child allowance, o inancial assis ance om
amily membe s), sa ings, o indeb edness,
ha e been conside ed in assessmen s o
heal h- ela ed quali y o li e. The p esen s udy
a emp s o add ess his esea ch gap.
1. heo e ical backg ound
Resea che s ha e no ed a wo se heal h
condi ion among he unemployed han among
he employed (T an, Can ield, & Chan, 2016).
In Ø e land e al. (2006), jobless esponden s
a ed hei heal h as wo se han he employed.
In a male Finnish popula ion G iep e al. (2016)
no ed be e pe cei ed heal h condi ion among
insecu e pe manen employees han among
he sho - e m unemployed, and in pa icula ,
EM_3_2020.indd 24 27.08.2020 13:31:03
25
3, XXIII, 2020
Economics
han among he long- e m unemployed. A s udy
o an I alian unemployed popula ion as well
as i s -job seeke s and insecu e empo a y
wo ke s showed ha all o hem epo ed
a wo se pe cei ed heal h s a us han secu e
pe manen employees (Minelli e al., 2014).
Soł ysik e al. (2017), ound a lowe quali y o
li e in he unemployed han in manual and whi e-
colla wo ke s. Czeki da e al. (2017) indica ed,
howe e , mo e complex associa ions be ween
unemploymen and quali y o li e. A compa ison
be ween he quali y o li e o wo king and jobless
nu ses and midwi es showed ha he wo king
nu ses pe cei ed hei quali y o li e be e
han hei unemployed coun e pa s. Howe e ,
jobless midwi es assessed hei quali y o li e
highe han hei wo king coun e pa s. Michalos
and O lando (2006) showed ha unemployed
wo king-age indi iduals a ed hei quali y o li e
lowe han he p e-wo king-age unemployed.
A lowe assessmen o quali y o li e o he
unemployed han o he employed was also
obse ed by Wo ach-Ka das and Kos zewski
(2013) in an u ban popula ion aged mo e han
45 yea s. Ca lie e al. (2013) also showed ha
e-employmen signi ican ly imp o ed he sel -
a ed heal h o unemployed esponden s.
The e ha e been a he ew popula ion-
based s udies ega ding he links be ween he
quali y o li e and socio-economic s a us o
heal hy pe sons. In a s udy o Chinese popula ion
Zhang e al. (2015), showed low income, olde
age, and unemploymen o be signi ican ac o s
o lowe quali y o li e assessmen . Huang e al.
(2017) in hei esea ch on a Chinese popula ion
showed ha lowe quali y o li e (QoL) index
sco es we e associa ed wi h olde age, low
le els o educa ion, empo a y accommoda ion,
po e y, and unemploymen . S udies o
Li huanians indica ed associa ions be ween
highe quali y o li e sco es, highe educa ion
and income le els, and occupa ion. Unemployed
and e i ed Li huanians a ained lowe quali y o
li e index sco es han hei wo king coun e pa s
(Rėklai ienė, Bace ičienė, & And ijauskas,
2009).
Kokalia i (2016) analyzed associa ions
be ween quali y o li e and socio-economic
s a us in G eece ollowing he aus e i y
measu es imposed a e he inancial c isis.
She eco ded lowe quali y o li e sco es in
women, single pa en s, low income wo ke s,
and he unemployed. In an in e es ing s udy o
pos pa um women Chinweuba e al. (2018),
showed ha women wi h highe le els o
educa ion and income a ed hei quali y o
li e be e han women wi h lowe educa ion
and income le els. Mo eo e , he quali y o
li e assessmen de e io a ed wi h he s udied
women’s age and was highe in wo king women
han in non-wo king women. Yang e al. (2016)
e alua ed he quali y o li e in i s physical and
men al domains among 1,825 unemployed
esponden s om China, and examined he
ela ionships be ween hei quali y o li e and
socio-economic s a us. Highe mean QoL
physical domain sco es we e shown o be ela ed
wi h he male sex, younge age, and highe
income. Single unemployed pe sons unde 25
yea s o age, whose mon hly income exceeded
2,000 yuans pe cei ed hei quali y o li e as he
highes in he men al domain. The pe cep ion o
quali y o li e in he physical and psychological
domains also depended on employmen leng h,
and i was signi ican ly wo se among people
who emained unemployed o longe han
6 mon hs.
Ea lie esea ch also poin ed o he impac
o socio-economic s a us on pe cei ed heal h
condi ion. Janko ić, Jane ić and Knesebeck
(2012) in hei s udy o a Se bian popula ion
concluded ha he odds o assessing hei
heal h as poo we e ou - imes highe in
indi iduals wi h a low educa ion han wi h
a highe educa ion. The odds o poo sel -
pe cei ed heal h by he unemployed was,
howe e , abou 1.5 imes highe han by he
employed. G iep e al. (2016) ound s a is ically
signi ican co ela ions be ween pe cei ed
heal h condi ion and such a iables as age,
educa ion, ha ing child en, income, and place
o esidence. Nega i e co ela ions o sel - a ed
heal h wi h age, and posi i e co ela ions wi h
educa ion, numbe o child en unde 18 yea s
o age in he amily, and place o esidence
we e also ound. Minelli e al. (2014), con i med
ha young people wi h high incomes did a e
hei pe cei ed heal h condi ion mos highly.
In iew o he abo e conside a ions he aim
o his s udy is he iden i ica ion and assessmen
o po en ial co ela ions be ween heal h- ela ed
quali y o li e and socio-economic s a us in
unemployed indi iduals. Two speci ic esea ch
p oblems ha e been o mula ed:
1. Wha is he assessmen o he quali y o li e
o he unemployed om W ocław?
2. A e gende , age and such ac o s o socio-
economic s a us as: le el o educa ion,
EM_3_2020.indd 25 27.08.2020 13:31:03
26 2020, XXIII, 3
Economics
ma i al s a us, household size, income
pe capi a, sa ings and deb ela ed o
he assessmen o he quali y o li e o he
esponden s?
2. esea ch me hodology
The su ey was o a c oss-sec ional na u e and
was conduc ed om Oc obe 2014 o Ma ch
2015, in W ocław, Poland. The s udy sample
comp ised 4,332 pe sons (2,276 women,
2,056 men) aged 18–64 yea s, i.e. abou 1%
o all wo king-age esiden s o W ocław. The
minimum sample size was calcula ed using he
o mula below (B zeziński, 2011):
(1)
whe e: N – numbe o W ocław esiden s on
Decembe 31, 2013 (N = 632,067); p – ac ion
o wo king-age W ocław esiden s on Decembe
31, 2013 (p = 0.63); q – cons an calcula ed as
1−p (q = 0.37); e – expec ed es ima ion e o o
p (e = 1.5%); Zα = 1.96 o α = 0.05.
The sample selec ion was andom using
a h ee-le el s a i ica ion. Fi s , wi h he use o
a andom numbe able, en esiden ial a eas
we e selec ed om all alphabe ically o de ed
W ocław a eas. Nex , h ee s ee s om each
selec ed esiden ial a ea we e chosen, whose
esiden s we e asked o ill in he ques ionnai e.
The numbe o esponden s om pa icula
esiden ial a eas was p opo iona e o he
numbe o esiden s o hese a eas. The
esponden s we e all in o med abou he
pu pose and he cou se o he s udy, and hey
exp essed hei w i en consen o pa icipa e.
403 esponden s (246 women, 157 men)
we e egis e ed unemployed pe sons, and hey
we e di ided in o he ollowing age anges:
18–24 yea s (21% o women, 28% o men),
25–34 yea s (18% o women, 26% o men),
35–44 yea s (8% o women, 10% o men), 45–
54 yea s (13% o women, 17% o men), and
55–64 yea s (40% o women, 20% o men).
The majo i y o he unemployed esponden s
(68% o women, 70% o men) had a p ima y
o oca ional educa ion; 24% o women and
22% o men – a seconda y educa ion, and 8%
o bo h men and women – a highe educa ion.
Almos 53% o women and 52% o men among
he unemployed unde s udy we e ma ied,
while 47% o women and 48% o men we e
single. 15 % pe cen o women and 13% o men
li ed alone, 31% o women and 29% o men
li ed in wo-pe son households, 20% o women
and 15% o men in h ee-pe son households,
21% o women and 31% o men in ou -pe son
households, and abou 13% o bo h men and
women in i e-and-mo e pe son households.
The mon hly pe capi a income in a household
up o PLN 500 was ea ned by 23% o women
and 44% o men, PLN 501–1,000 by 30% o
women and 22% o men, PLN 1,001–1,500 by
28% o women and 25% o men, PLN 1,501–
2,000 by 9% o women and by 5% o men, and
abo e PLN 2,000 by 10% o women and 4%
o men. Almos 83% o he unemployed women
and 95% o unemployed men unde s udy had
no sa ings, and o e 82% o women and 81%
o men we e in deb (Tab. 1).
The main me hod used in he s udy was he
diagnos ic ques ionnai e su ey. Responden s’
quali y o li e was a ed wi h he Wo ld Heal h
O ganiza ion Quali y o Li e (WHOQOL-BREF)
ques ionnai e (WHO, 2013) consis ing o 26
i ems assessing: O e all Quali y o Li e (OQoL),
Pe cei ed Heal h Condi ion (PHC), and Quali y
o Li e in ou domains: Physical Domain
(PHYD), Psychological Domain (PSYD), Social
Domain (SD), and En i onmen al Domain
(ED). Answe s o he i ems we e exp essed on
a scale: 1 o 5 poin s whe e he bes sco e is:
5 and he wo s is 1 o OQoL and pe cei ed
heal h condi ion (PHC); and 4 o 20 poin s o
each o he ou quali y o li e domains whe e
he bes sco e is: 20 and he wo s is 4.
The socio-economic s a us o he
unemployed was assessed using au ho ’s own
socio-economic s a us ques ionnai e (S-ESQ),
which conside ed such a iables as: gende
( emale, male), age (18–24, 25–34, 35–44,
45–54, 55–64 yea s), educa ion (p ima y and
oca ional, seconda y, highe ), ma i al s a us
(single, ma ied), numbe o pe sons pe
household (1, 2, 3, 4, 5–9), pe capi a income
(≤ 500, 501–1,000, 1,001–1,500, 1,501–2,000,
≥ 2,001 Polish zlo ys [PLN]), ha ing sa ings
(NO, YES), and indeb edness (NO, YES). Be o e
he applica ion o he S-ESQ ques ionnai e
i s eliabili y was ensu ed wi h a es - e es
me hod. To ha end a g oup o 115 people (64
women, 51 men) illed he ques ionnai e wice,
14 days apa . The collec ed da a we e used o
es epea abili y analysis in o de o emo e all
e o s and inaccu acies in he es .
EM_3_2020.indd 26 27.08.2020 13:31:04
27
3, XXIII, 2020
Economics
The ga he ed da a we e o de ed and u he
analyzed in e ms o numbe s and pe cen ages
wi h ega d o esponden s’ gende , age, and
socio-economic a iables. A i hme ic means
(M) and s anda d de ia ion (SD) o heal h-
ela ed quali y o li e and o pe cei ed heal h
condi ion in g oups o esponden s acco ding o
gende , age and socio-economic a iables we e
calcula ed. Co ela ions be ween esponden s’
quali y o li e and socio-economic s a us we e
checked wi h he K uskal-Wallis one-way
analysis o a iance (H) and Dunn’s pos -hoc
es s. The le el o s a is ical signi icance was
se a α < 0.05. All calcula ions we e made wi h
he use o S a is ica 13.0 so wa e package
(Dell Inc.).
3. esea ch esul s
The mean heal h- ela ed quali y o li e sco e
o he unemployed esponden s was 3.1 ± 0.9
p s. and was highe han he mean pe cei ed
heal h condi ion sco e, i.e. 2.7 ± 1.2 p s. As o
he ou quali y o li e domains, he esponden s
ga e hei highes sco es in he social domain
(14.2 ± 2.8 p s.) and psychological domain
Va iable Ca ego y
To al
(N = 403)
Women
(n = 246)
Men
(n = 157)
n%n%n%
Age [yea s] 18–24 95 23.57 51 20.73 44 28.03
25–34 85 21.09 44 17.89 41 26.11
35–44 35 8.68 20 8.13 15 9.55
45–54 58 14.39 32 13.01 26 16.56
55–64 130 32.26 99 40.24 31 19.75
Educa ion P ima y 277 68.73 167 67.89 110 70.06
Seconda y 94 23.33 59 23.98 35 22.29
Uni e si y 32 7.94 20 8.13 12 7.64
Ma i al s a us Single 190 47.15 115 46.75 75 47.77
Ma ied 213 52.85 131 53.25 82 52.23
Pe sons pe household 1 56 13.9 36 14.63 20 12.74
2121 30.02 76 30.89 45 28.66
3 74 18.36 50 20.33 24 15.29
4 99 24.57 51 20.73 48 30.57
5–9 53 13.15 33 13.41 20 12.74
Pe capi a income [PLN] ≤ 500 125 31.02 56 22.76 69 43.95
501–1,000 109 27.05 75 30.49 34 21.66
1,001–1,500 108 26.8 68 27.64 40 25.48
1,501–2,000 31 7.69 23 9.35 8 5.10
≥ 2,001 30 7.44 24 9.76 6 3.82
Sa ings No 352 87.34 203 82.52 149 94.90
Yes 51 12.66 43 17.48 8 5.10
Indeb edness No 75 18.61 45 18.29 30 19.11
Yes 328 81.39 201 81.71 127 80.89
Sou ce: own
No es: n – numbe o esponden s; % – pe cen o esponden s.
Tab. 1: Numbe and pe cen age o unemployed esiden s o W ocław wi h ega d o
hei socio-economic s a us
EM_3_2020.indd 27 27.08.2020 13:31:04

28 2020, XXIII, 3
Economics
(13.0 ± 2.3 p s.), ollowed by he physical
and en i onmen al domains (12.0 p s. each)
(Fig. 1).
The analysis o he mean o e all heal h-
ela ed quali y o li e sco es indica es s a is ically
signi ican di e ences (p < 0.001) in g oups o
esponden s acco ding o age, pe sons pe
household, and pe capi a income (Fig. 2). The
highes quali y o li e sco es (3.6 ± 0.9 p s.)
we e a ained by he younges esponden s,
and he lowes (2.7 ± 0.7 p s.) by he oldes .
The p- alues o pos -hoc mul iple compa isons
be ween mean ank alues (R) in pa icula
g oups poin o signi ican di e ences in quali y
o li e be ween esponden s aged 18–24 and
55–64 yea s, 25–34 and 55–64 yea s, and 45–
54 and 55–64 yea s. The highes quali y o li e
sco es we e epo ed by he unemployed li ing
in i e-o -mo e-pe son households (3.5 ± 0.7
p s.) and ou -pe son households (3.3 ± 0.9 p s.),
and he lowes by he unemployed om wo-
pe son households (2.7 ± 0.8 p s.). S a is ically
signi ican di e ences in quali y o li e sco es
we e also ound be ween he unemployed
om one-, wo-, h ee-pe son households and
om i e- and mo e-pe son households, and
be ween he unemployed om wo-pe son
households and ou -pe son households. The
mean quali y o li e assessmen inc eased
wi h he g owing mean income pe capi a. The
highes quali y o li e sco es we e epo ed by
esponden s wi h an income le el abo e 2,001
Polish zlo ys (4.4 ± 0.8 p s.) and be ween 1,501
and 2,000 zlo ys (3.6 ± 1.1 p s.), and he lowes
by he unemployed whose income le el was
unde o equal o 500 zlo ys (2.5 ± 0.8 p s.).
The di e ences in quali y o li e be ween he
g oup o esponden s wi h he income unde
500 zlo ys and all o he income g oups we e
signi ican . S a is ically signi ican di e ences
we e also ound be ween mean o e all quali y
o li e sco es o esponden s wi h income le els
be ween 501 and 1,000 and 1,501–2,000, and
be ween 501 and 1,000 and 2,000 and mo e
zlo ys.
Responden s’ age and such socio-economic
a iables as educa ion, ma i al s a us, pe sons
pe household, pe capi al income, and ha ing
sa ings we e also signi ican di e en ia ing
ac o s o pe cei ed heal h condi ion (Fig. 3).
The highes mean pe cei ed heal h condi ion
sco es we e epo ed by he unemployed
aged 18–24 yea s (3.7 ± 1.0 p s.) and 25–34
yea s (3.5 ± 0.9 p s.), and he lowes by he
unemployed aged 55–64 yea s (2.0 ± 1.1 p s.),
45–54 yea s (2.1 ± 0.6 p s.) and 35–44 yea s
(2.5 ± 0.5 p s.). Pos hoc compa isons be ween
di e en age g oups e ealed s a is ically
signi ican di e ences in pe cei ed heal h
condi ion assessmen s be ween he younges
Fig. 1: Quali y o li e and pe cei ed heal h condi ion o unemployed esiden s o
W ocław (N = 403). Da e a e mean and s anda d de ia ion M (SD)
Sou ce: own
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29
3, XXIII, 2020
Economics
Fig. 2:
O e all quali y o li e in g oups o unemployed esiden s o W ocław
wi h ega d o gende , age, and socio-economic s a us (N = 403);
da e a e mean and s anda d de ia ion M (SD)
Sou ce: own
EM_3_2020.indd 29 27.08.2020 13:31:04
30 2020, XXIII, 3
Economics
Fig. 3:
Pe cei ed heal h condi ion in g oups o unemployed esiden s o W ocław
wi h ega d o gende , age, and socio-economic s a us (N = 403); da e a e mean
and s anda d de ia ion M (SD)
Sou ce: own
EM_3_2020.indd 30 27.08.2020 13:31:05
31
3, XXIII, 2020
Economics
g oup and he h ee oldes age g oups o
unemployed esponden s. The K uskal-Wallis
es esul s (H = 21.87, p < 0.001) and p pos
hoc mul iple compa isons showed ha he
mean anks o pe cei ed heal h condi ion
be ween g oups o he unemployed acco ding
o educa ion di e ed signi ican ly. A signi ican
de e minan o pe cei ed heal h condi ion
assessmen was also he esponden s’ ma i al
s a us (H = 54.17, p < 0.001). Responden s
who we e single assessed hei pe cei ed
heal h condi ion highe (3.2 ± 1.3 p s.) han
esponden s who we e ma ied (2.3 ± 1.0 p s.).
The highes pe cei ed heal h condi ion sco es
we e epo ed by he unemployed esponden s
om h ee-pe son households (3.2 ± 1.2 p s.),
one-pe son households (3.0 ± 0.9 p s.), and
ou -pe son households (2.9 ± 1.4 p s.); and he
lowes by he esponden s om i e-and-mo e-
pe son households (2.2 ± 1.3 p s.) and wo-
pe son households (2.4 ± 1.1 p s.). S a is ically
signi ican di e ences in sel - a ed heal h
we e also ound be ween esponden s om
one-pe son households and h ee-, ou - and
i e-and-mo e-pe son households, be ween
esponden s om wo-pe son households
and h ee- and ou -pe son households, and
be ween esponden s om h ee- and ou -
pe son households and i e- and mo e-pe son
households. The mean pe cei ed heal h
condi ion sco es we e also signi ican ly di e en
be ween he pe capi a income ange g oups
o esponden s. The highes sco es (4.4 ± 0.8
p s.) we e ound among he esponden s wi h
he highes income, and he lowes sco es
among he esponden s wi h he lowes income
(2.1 ± 1.2 p s). In e -g oup pos hoc compa isons
e ealed signi ican di e ences be ween he
g oup o esponden s wi h he lowes income
and he emaining income g oups, be ween
hose wi h hei income in he 501–1,000 zlo y
ange and 1,001–1,500 ange, and be ween
hose in he 1,001–1,500 zlo y ange and hose
ea ning mo e han 2,000 zlo ys. Also pe cei ed
heal h condi ion was assessed signi ican ly
highe (H = 4.70, p = 0.03) by esponden s wi h
sa ings (2.8 ± 1.2 p s.) han by esponden s
wi hou sa ings (2.4 ± 1.4 p s.).
4. discussion
Socio-economic s a us, also e e ed o in
social sciences as li ing s anda ds o objec i e
quali y o li e, cons i u es a spec um o
possibili ies o needs ul illmen . I also in ol es
a numbe o social beha io s conside ed o
ha e a signi ican impac on he subjec i e
(pe cei ed) quali y o li e (Słaby, 2017). One
o subjec i e quali y o li e ca ego ies is heal h-
ela ed quali y o li e. Consump ion sho ages
a ec , in pa icula , unemployed pe sons who
o en expe ience limi ed possibili ies o ul ilmen
o hei needs, including heal h- ela ed needs
(Sa i & Rod iguez, 2018).
Nega i e co ela ions be ween heal h-
ela ed quali y o li e and esponden s’ age
ha e been well documen ed (Chinweuba e
al., 2018; Huang e al., 2017; Yang e al., 2016;
Zhang e al., 2015). Also he p esen s udy
o he unemployed om W ocław con i ms
hese co ela ions. The younges esponden s
epo ed he highes quali y o li e sco es,
while he oldes go he lowes sco es. Simila
obse a ions can be made ega ding sel -
pe cei ed heal h assessmen . This con i ma ion
is empi ical as objec i e heal h s a us has been
p o en o de e io a e wi h age (Sławińska,
Posłuszny, & Rożek, 2014; W óblewska e al.,
2015).
An impo an co ela e o heal h- ela ed
quali y o li e is also he ma i al s a us. Single
unemployed esiden s o W ocław a ed
hei quali y o li e highe han hei ma ied
coun e pa s. Resul s o ea lie s udies
in o hese co ela ions had been a he
inconclusi e. Raymake s e al. (2018) ound
no signi ican co ela ions be ween quali y o
li e and ma i al s a us. In Du maz e al. (2000)
ma ied indi iduals e alua ed hei quali y o li e
highe han single indi iduals. Howe e , Opoku-
Boa eng e al. (2017) ound highe odds o be e
quali y o li e sco es in single indi iduals han in
ma ied indi iduals. Few s udies (e.g. Ku ino á,
2015) ound no signi ican co ela ions be ween
sel - a ed heal h and ma i al s a us. This issue
s ill equi es u he empi ical esea ch.
The esul s o he p esen s udy conside ing
he impac o he numbe o pe sons pe
household showed ha he unemployed
om households wi h he la ges numbe o
membe s epo ed he highes heal h- ela ed
quali y o li e sco es and he lowes pe cei ed
heal h condi ion sco es. The a iable o pe sons
pe household had no been conside ed
be o e in ea lie s udies. G iep e al. (2016)
ound, howe e , posi i e co ela ions be ween
pe cei ed heal h condi ion assessmen and he
numbe o child en unde 18 yea s o age in he
amily. I migh be assumed ha households wi h
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