The economic crisis and mental health in Greece

The economic crisis that has been troubling Greece since 2009 has demonstrated in the most emphatic and tragic way the impact of social variables on the mental health of the population. There is evidence of the negative impact of the economic crisis on the mental health of both the general population and specific population groups, as a result of the downgrading of basic variables (e.g., income, employment), although health impact assessment of the policy measures that have been adopted (i.e., fiscal austerity) is lacking. This is a literature review of the relationship between the economic crisis and mental health in Greece for the period 2009-2014, based mainly on methodological aspects. The aim was to show basic tendencies and correlations rather than conduct a meta-analysis exercise. The model of "dependent-independent" variables and the assessment tools of the impact of variables were evaluated in relation to the results of the 31 publications which met the study criteria. The great majority of research studies demonstrated a significant negative relationship between the economic crisis and mental health, independent of the specific category of study. The same result was found regardless of the different methodology or research strategy adopted by writers, such as comparison between different groups, linear regression analysis or logistic regression analysis.