Money buys mental health: A multidimensional analysis of social, financial, and emotional well-being in 92 countries

Governments and organizations increasingly endorse the importance of mental health in all forms of policy, though emphasis in measurement still remains on indicators such as GDP, depression, and other common disorders. In this study of 92 countries (n = 53,799), we assess the mental health of individuals around the world alongside measures of financial and social well-being. Findings include a trend of languishing mental health across many groups, particularly among younger adults and within higher-income countries. While positive trends are observed for education and income, a number of concerning trends also emerge, particularly the loss of the U-shape for age and generally moderate results for employed individuals. In sum, we find an alarming but perhaps unsurprisingly low level of positive mental health in a substantial number of countries, but also identify specific economic, social, and other indicators that policymakers could target in improving the well-being of the populations they serve.

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Published
2025-11-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/3jyda_v1
Primary Topic
Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
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article
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article

Money buys mental health: A multidimensional analysis of social, financial, and emotional well-being in 92 countries

Anastasia Gracheva, Ali H. Al‐Hoorie, Naya Polychroni, Lana Bojanić et al.
Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
article

Money buys mental health: A multidimensional analysis of social, financial, and emotional well-being in 92 countries

Anastasia Gracheva, Ali H. Al‐Hoorie, Naya Polychroni, Lana Bojanić, Fatima Zahra Sahli, Gaizhi Li, Joonha Park, Barbora Doubravová, Esther Awazzi Envuladu, Daria Stefania Pascu, Aslı Bursalıoğlu, Vladimíra Čavojová, Melika Miralem, Rizwana Amin, Rita W. El‐Haddad, Žan Lep, Felipe Rojas‐Thomas, Kai Qin Chan, Mirela Zaneva, Mafalda F. Mascarenhas, Dmitry Sergeevich Grigoryev, Sandra J. Geiger, Apitchaya Chaiwutikornwanich, Zubaida Shebani, Anna Hassan, Felicia Sundström, Ivaylo Sakelariev, Ruohan Xu, Tiziana Maria Mahayri, Y. Wang, Jakob Schuck, Valério Souza-Neto, Albina Alikovna Gallyamova, Žiga Mekiš Recek, Yiyong Zhou, Sebastian A. Meyer, Andrea Freire-Pesántez, Wai Meng. Ho, Kamolidin Batirovich Kadirov, Narjes Al-Zahli, Sarah Ashcroft-Jones, Marlene Hecht, Lucía Freira, Habib Mohammad Ali, Thomas Lind Andersen, Ibraheem Sanusi, Hadia Fakhreldin, Claudio López-Calle, Frida Berglund, Luis Sebastian Contreras-Huerta, Lucía Macchia, Jingqing Le, Ani Grigoryan, Barnabás Szászi, Joel Anderson, Elisa Berdica, Sergiu Sanduleac, Lea Jakob, Stavros P. Hadjisolomou, Arobindu Dash, Demetris Taliadoros, Fitim Uka, A. Miranda, Irina Soboleva, Filippo Toscano, Julia G. Halilova, Deniz Mısra Gürol, Sofia Pelica, Shane Timmons, Taha R. Adawi, S. Sidhu, Anna‐Lena Tebbe, Matthias Burghart, Iva Popović, Kenn Konstabel, Sara Plakolm Erlač, Volodymyr Vakhitov, Elisabeth D. C. Sievert, Eman Farahat, Camelia Truţă, Metasebiya Ayele Mamo, Narine Khachatryan, Merle Havik, Ahmet Kerem Sarikaya, Victoria Plămădeală, Eike Kofi Buabang, Gerhard M. Prinz, Paula Barea-Arroyo, Felice Tavera, Elena Kim, Edmunds Vanags, Mette Ranta, Ana‐Maria Cazan, Jaan Tulviste, C. Lee, Silvia Guillén-Marín, Guillermo M. Suárez, Silvana Mareva, Martina Benvenuti, Joaquín Navajas, Rosliza Yahaya, Francisco Leonardo Soler-Anguiano, Markus R. Tünte, Tatianna Dugué, Gerit Pfuhl, Samson Mhizha, Kaltrina Kelmendi, David Oliver Kasdan, Enma Tereza Huaman Chulluncuy, Katarina Mišetić, Ralitsa Karakasheva, Ahlke Kip, Şebnem Özdemir, Elizaveta Shamilevna Komyaginskaya, Silvia Filippi, Daina Kosīte, O. Radnaa, Cristina Navarro, Konstantinos Papachristopoulos, Lada Kaliská, Khatuna Martskvishvili, Martin Mabunda Baluku, Vladyslav S. Dombrovskyi, Ali Hajian, Fikret Yetkin, N Daniel, Hannes Jarke, Jack H. Andrews, Adele D'Ari, Angel Zegarra-López, Biljana Gjoneska, Hojjat Daniali, Kai Ruggeri, Alex Ojeda Copa, Habib Tiliouine, Nagireddy Neelakanteswar Reddy, Ludvig Daae Bjørndal, Florencia M. Sortheix, Maksymilian Pyrkowski, Tom Van Daele, Shiyi Chen, Tengku Amatullah Madeehah Tengku Mohd, Jana Berkessel, Javier Aguilar, Elli Polemiti, David Izydorczyk, Nozima Mullabaeva, Amina Mohammed, Jorge Rodríguez-Menés, Alexandra Ana Maria Tudose, Fredy S. Monge, Ziwei Gao, Magdalena Chorzępa, Carmit T. Tadmor, Alexander Gustav Fredriksen Ikonomeas, Benjamin Miranda Tabak, Rand Said, Nato Lagidze, Rania Miniesy, Liene Sīle, Ingeborg Farver-Vestergaard, Federico Barrera-Lemarchand, Jakub Šrol, Erica Munnik, Ledion Musaj, Amanda Remsö, Johanna Löloff, Binhayati Rusyidi, Mariam Shavgulidze, Pál Kolumbán, Mohammed Amara, Muhammad Jawad, Yuki Yamada, Ana Maria Rocha, Rachel C. F. Sun, Elena Niehoff, Gesine Jordan, Aysha Zummer, Zhongfan Liu, Peter Baguma, H. Christine Hsu, Devita Singh, Larissa Ayanna Pessoa Santos, E. Monteiro, Rami Mohammad Alsharif, Jasmin Dönicke, Nina Šafranko, Yasmin Silane, Philippe Roman Sloksnath, Eszter Zilahi, Nicolas Brandao, Anna Hakobjanyan, Nisma Merdad, Fiorella Macchiavello, Petra Šarić, Hansika Piyumali Ambahelagedara, Zebuniso, Fawziah Alammar, Atheer Musad, Rafaella Osores Urday, Meeval Soorej, Solongo Tsogt, Marijn Antens, Tamara Arh, Angelina Fauma, Saule Gazizova, Lenka Kalezić, Sami M. Almahjoob, Moussa Ali Mahamat, Asel Myrzabekova, Dieynaba Gadrielle Ndiaye, Qais Ibrahim AlMeqdad, Charlotte S.L. Rossetti, Ashenafi Zelalem, Deena Al-Dhahli, Srećko Gutić, William Haspel, Elham Hossain, Dyana Chusnulitta Jatnika, Nirvana Ribić, Éloïse Côté, Tamara Đokić, Ksenija Edelinski, Thorsten Michael Erle, Amani AlAmeeri, Filipe de Neri Machado, Taif Aljaberi, Sandimampita Razafimbola, Cecilia Vezzani, Nataliia Zaika, Zoakah Joy Hyelni, Tsend-Ayush Azjargal, Bamlak Cherinet, Georgina Haspel, Marcelo Amaral Mali, Dhanya Sunil Subhas, Srinaath Anbu Durai, Maria Towns, Reginald G. Ugaddan, Ismahan Soukeyna Diop, Bantu Edward, Abakar M. Habsita, Desislava Kirilova Kirilova, Mohammad Sartawi, Guillermo Valenzuela-Catarí, Vidit Megan, David Santson Ayebare, Alain Belahimi, Galla Abderahaman, Diadora Cërmjani, Eva Dreyfus, Sama Alsewaidi, Katarina Pižurica, Marija Sekulović, Mirna Karim Shokry, Susana Silva Mostajo, Yodit Kifle Wolde, Goni Biran, Talar Agopian, Gordana Ristevska Dimitrovska, Skerdi Zahaj
article en

Abstract

Governments and organizations increasingly endorse the importance of mental health in all forms of policy, though emphasis in measurement still remains on indicators such as GDP, depression, and other common disorders. In this study of 92 countries (n = 53,799), we assess the mental health of individuals around the world alongside measures of financial and social well-being. Findings include a trend of languishing mental health across many groups, particularly among younger adults and within higher-income countries. While positive trends are observed for education and income, a number of concerning trends also emerge, particularly the loss of the U-shape for age and generally moderate results for employed individuals. In sum, we find an alarming but perhaps unsurprisingly low level of positive mental health in a substantial number of countries, but also identify specific economic, social, and other indicators that policymakers could target in improving the well-being of the populations they serve.

University of Oxford (GB), University of Edinburgh (GB)
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Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
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