Aim: Recently, interest has grown in the association between contextual factors and health outcomes. This study\r\nquestions whether mental health complaints vary according to the socio-economic characteristics of the residential\r\narea where people live. The gender-specific patterns are studied.\r\nMethods: Complaints of depression and generalized anxiety were measured by means of the relevant subscales of\r\nthe Symptoms Checklist 90-Revised. Multilevel models were estimated with PASW statistics 18, based on a unique\r\ndataset, constructed by merging data from the Belgian Health Interview Surveys from 2001 and 2004 with data\r\nfrom 264 municipalities derived from Statistics Belgium and the General Socio-Economic Survey.\r\nMain findings: The results of this exploratory study indicate that the local unemployment rate is associated with\r\ncomplaints of depression among women.\r\nConclusion: This study suggests that policy should approach the male and female population differently when\r\nimplementing mental health prevention campaigns.
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