A Research Update

Norton & Ariely, forthcoming, Perspectives on Psychological Science

Americans would like Swedish levels of equality

Holt-Lundstad et al, PLoS Medicine 2010;7:e1---316

Friendship is as important for health as smoking and drinking

Income inequality and health in international comparisons

• Nine new studies comparing rich countries

• Seven find health is worse in more unequal countries

• Two do not, but they measure self-rated health

Dorling & Barford, Health and Place 2009;15: 1166-1169

Multilevel Analyses of Income Inequality and Health

Kondo et al, British Medical Journal 2009;339: b4471

"upwards of 1.5 million deaths (9.6% of total adult mortality in the 15-60 age group) could be averted in 30 OECD countries”

Longitudinal Analyses of Income Inequality

“Results confirm that states with higher levels of inequality experienced less subsequent improvement in life expectancy. Contrary to findings from prior research, analyses also reveal a strong negative associationbetween change in inequality and change in longevity once initial levels of inequality and other state characteristics are controlled”

Clarkwest, Social Science & Medicine 2008; 66:1871-1881

© Wilkinson and Pickett, 2010, unpublished analysis

ELGAR, F. J. & AITKEN, N. (2010) Income inequality, trust and homicide in 33 countries. Eur J Public Health.

Income Inequality

Trust

Homicides

r = -0.65p<0.01

r = -0.58p<0.01

R= -0.75P<0.01

Mediation analysis of income inequality and violence

ELGAR, F. J. & AITKEN, N. (2010) Income inequality, trust and homicide in 33 countries. Eur J Public Health.

Elgar FJ. Income inequality, trust, and population health in 33 countries. Am J Public Health;100(11):2311-5.

Elgar FJ, Craig W, Boyce W, Morgan A, Vella-Zarb R. Income inequality and school bullying: multilevel study of adolescents in 37 countries. J Adolesc Health 2009;45(4):351-9.

The age of criminal responsibility is lower in more unequal societies

© Wilkinson and Pickett, 2010, unpublished analysis

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Dorling. http://sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/presentations