Individual socioeconomic position among the general population and economic downturns-related perceived stress, psychological resilience, and wellbeing in Thailand.

Authors

Ratanaporn Awiphan, Chidchanok Ruengorn, Chabaphai Phosuya, Kiatkriangkrai Koyratkoson, Penkarn Kanjanarat, Kednapa Thavorn, Nahathai Wongpakaran, Tinakon Wongpakaran, Surapon Nochaiwong

Published in

Frontiers in public health. Volume 14. Pages 1855202. Epub Jun 08, 2026.

Abstract

Economic downturns before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have been accompanied by adverse psychosocial outcomes. In Thailand, evidence on how individual-level socioeconomic position (SEP) relates to key psychosocial issues remains limited, and a standardized, simple SEP index is unavailable. We examined the associations between an individual SEP index and adverse psychosocial outcomes among working-aged adults.
We recruited working-age adults aged 18-60 years using an online public mental health survey conducted in Thailand. The individual SEP index is based on a composite of educational level, personal income, occupational position, and housing overcrowding. The SEP index was classified as very low, low, moderate, and high. Psychosocial issues, including perceived stress, psychological resilience, and wellbeing, were measured using validated instruments. Associations between the SEP index and psychosocial outcomes were analyzed using weighted multivariable Tobit and ordinal logistic hierarchical regression models to account for potential confounders and the ordinal nature of the outcome variables.
Based on 1,992 participants, the sex- and age-adjusted prevalence estimates were 9.8% for the very low, 31.6% for the low, 48.0% for the moderate, and 10.6% for the high SEP index groups, weighted by the national population and Internet use rate. We found a significant association between the SEP index category, particularly among those in the very low group, and the degrees of higher perceived stress (β coefficients ranged from 1.96 to 2.94), lower resilience coping (β coefficients ranged from -0.74 to -1.64), and wellbeing scores (β coefficients ranged from -5.40 to -11.52). Individuals with a lower SEP index category revealed a significantly higher risk of moderate/high perceived stress [common odds ratio (OR), 3.02; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.45-6.33; p = 0.003], low resilient copers (common OR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.23-0.86; p = 0.016), and very poor wellbeing (common OR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.16-0.58; p < 0.001) compared with the high SEP index group.
A simple individual-level SEP index was associated with perceived stress, psychological resilience, and wellbeing among working-age adults in Thailand during the early COVID-19 period. This index may help identify socioeconomically vulnerable groups for targeted mental health interventions; however, external validation is required before routine use in surveillance.

PMID:
42338544
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 24 Jun 2026.

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