Mental Well-Being of Americans among Different Social Classes through the Great Recession: A Chronological Analysis of Economic and Political Events

Research Article
Open access

Mental Well-Being of Americans among Different Social Classes through the Great Recession: A Chronological Analysis of Economic and Political Events

Zixuan Chen 1*
  • 1 Culver Academies, Culver, IN 46511, USA    
  • *corresponding author Zixuan.Chen@culver.org
CHR Vol.4
ISSN (Print): 2753-7072
ISSN (Online): 2753-7064
ISBN (Print): 978-1-915371-31-7
ISBN (Online): 978-1-915371-32-4

Abstract

While the economic consequences of the Great Recession are well-studied, the change in the emotions and mood of people from the event has been largely overlooked. Positive mental status, or happiness, is an essential factor beyond economic data to analyze the authentic prosperity of a country. This paper examines this aspect of the effect of the Financial Crisis of 2008. This paper gathered subjective surveys on personal feelings and objective economic data trends from credible databases to infer the individuals' mental status. Moreover, by connecting the change in those time trends to dates of specific governmental acts and programs and social-political events during the recession, this paper observes the nuance in changes in American individual mental well-being and the effects of political and social incidents. Since the condition of each social class differed, the extent of the harmful shock each experienced varied. According to the results, the upper class had the most severe damage yet the fastest recovery in terms of mental status from the recession. Furthermore, the government programs and acts vary in effectiveness: some mitigated the economic shocks but did not provide mental relief, and others vice versa. The impacts of such policies further differed among social classes. This paper provides conclusions that can help scholars better understand the full consequences of the US Great Recession on the lives of Americans and provide implications of effective governmental means to improve public mental well-being.

Keywords:

Government Policies, Great Recession, Mental Well-being, Social hierarchy

Chen,Z. (2023). Mental Well-Being of Americans among Different Social Classes through the Great Recession: A Chronological Analysis of Economic and Political Events. Communications in Humanities Research,4,209-224.
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References

[1]. Rodeck, D. (2022, August 18). What is a recession? Forbes. Retrieved August 26, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/what-is-a-recession/

[2]. Wingen, T., Englich, B., Estal-Muñoz, V., Mareva, S., & Kassianos, A. P. (2020). Exploring the relationship between social class and quality of life: The mediating role of power and status. Applied Research in Quality of Life. Advance online publication.

[3]. The United States Government. (2022, July 12). The executive branch. The White House. Retrieved July 29, 2022, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/the-executive-branch/

[4]. Zhu, Z., Ma, W., Leng, C., & Nie, P. (1970, January 1). The relationship between happiness and consumption expenditure: Evidence from rural China. Applied Research in Quality of Life. Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://econpapers.repec.org/article/sprariqol/v_3a16_3ay_3a2021_3ai_3a4_3ad_3a10.1007_5fs11482-020-09836-z.htm#:~:text=The%20empirical%20results%20show%20that%20a%20higher%20level,expenditures%20on%20basic%20living%20goods%2C%20education%20and%20gifts

[5]. Knabe, A., Schöb, R., & Weimann, J. (2010, November 17). Unemployment and happiness: A new take on an old problem. VOX, CEPR Policy Portal. Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://voxeu.org/article/unemployment-and-happiness-new-take-old-problem

[6]. Horowitz, J. M., Igielnik, R., & Kochhar, R. (2020, August 17). 1. trends in income and wealth inequality. Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project. Retrieved July 29, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/01/09/trends-in-income-and-wealth-inequality/

[7]. Luscombe, B. (2010, September 6). Do we need $75,000 a year to be happy? Time. Retrieved August 7, 2022, from http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2019628,00.html

[8]. Yu, Z., & Wang, F. (1AD, January 1). Income inequality and happiness: An inverted U-shaped curve. Frontiers. Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02052/full

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[10]. Amadeo, K. (2022, April 30). 2008 financial crisis timeline. The Balance. Retrieved July 31, 2022, from https://www.thebalance.com/2008-financial-crisis-timeline-3305540

[11]. Webel, B. (2013, June 27). Troubled asset relief program (Tarp): Implementation and status. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R41427.pdf

[12]. Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia (2021, October 28). United States Presidential Election of 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-2008

[13]. Tindall, G. B., & Shi, D. E. (2013). America: A narrative history. W.W. Norton & Co.

[14]. vicenews. (2018). Barack Obama preview | panic: The untold story of the 2008 financial crisis. YouTube. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKLfU0U75Es

[15]. Feyrer , J., & Sacerdote, B. (2011, February). Did the stimulus stimulate? real time estimates of the effects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w16759/w16759.pdf

[16]. History.com Editors. (2021, September 14). Occupy Wall Street begins. History.com. Retrieved August 14, 2022, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/occupy-wall-street-begins-zuccotti-park

[17]. Krugman, P. (2013, April 22). The jobless trap. The New York Times. Retrieved July 30, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/opinion/krugman-the-jobless-trap.html

Cite this article

Chen,Z. (2023). Mental Well-Being of Americans among Different Social Classes through the Great Recession: A Chronological Analysis of Economic and Political Events. Communications in Humanities Research,4,209-224.

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About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the International Conference on Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication Studies (ICIHCS 2022), Part 2

ISBN：978-1-915371-31-7(Print) / 978-1-915371-32-4(Online)
Editor：Faraz Ali Bughio, David T. Mitchell
Conference website: https://www.icihcs.org/
Conference date: 18 December 2022
Series: Communications in Humanities Research
Volume number: Vol.4
ISSN：2753-7064(Print) / 2753-7072(Online)

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References

[1]. Rodeck, D. (2022, August 18). What is a recession? Forbes. Retrieved August 26, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/what-is-a-recession/

[2]. Wingen, T., Englich, B., Estal-Muñoz, V., Mareva, S., & Kassianos, A. P. (2020). Exploring the relationship between social class and quality of life: The mediating role of power and status. Applied Research in Quality of Life. Advance online publication.

[3]. The United States Government. (2022, July 12). The executive branch. The White House. Retrieved July 29, 2022, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/the-executive-branch/

[4]. Zhu, Z., Ma, W., Leng, C., & Nie, P. (1970, January 1). The relationship between happiness and consumption expenditure: Evidence from rural China. Applied Research in Quality of Life. Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://econpapers.repec.org/article/sprariqol/v_3a16_3ay_3a2021_3ai_3a4_3ad_3a10.1007_5fs11482-020-09836-z.htm#:~:text=The%20empirical%20results%20show%20that%20a%20higher%20level,expenditures%20on%20basic%20living%20goods%2C%20education%20and%20gifts

[5]. Knabe, A., Schöb, R., & Weimann, J. (2010, November 17). Unemployment and happiness: A new take on an old problem. VOX, CEPR Policy Portal. Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://voxeu.org/article/unemployment-and-happiness-new-take-old-problem

[6]. Horowitz, J. M., Igielnik, R., & Kochhar, R. (2020, August 17). 1. trends in income and wealth inequality. Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project. Retrieved July 29, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/01/09/trends-in-income-and-wealth-inequality/

[7]. Luscombe, B. (2010, September 6). Do we need $75,000 a year to be happy? Time. Retrieved August 7, 2022, from http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2019628,00.html

[8]. Yu, Z., & Wang, F. (1AD, January 1). Income inequality and happiness: An inverted U-shaped curve. Frontiers. Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02052/full

[9]. Osberg, L. (2014, May). Canadian inequality, then and now: Can increasing inequality be a steady state? Retrieved July 30, 2022, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262859048_CANADIAN_INEQUALITY_THEN_AND_NOW_CAN_INCREASING_INEQUALITY_BE_A_STEADY_STATE

[10]. Amadeo, K. (2022, April 30). 2008 financial crisis timeline. The Balance. Retrieved July 31, 2022, from https://www.thebalance.com/2008-financial-crisis-timeline-3305540

[11]. Webel, B. (2013, June 27). Troubled asset relief program (Tarp): Implementation and status. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R41427.pdf

[12]. Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia (2021, October 28). United States Presidential Election of 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-2008

[13]. Tindall, G. B., & Shi, D. E. (2013). America: A narrative history. W.W. Norton & Co.

[14]. vicenews. (2018). Barack Obama preview | panic: The untold story of the 2008 financial crisis. YouTube. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKLfU0U75Es

[15]. Feyrer , J., & Sacerdote, B. (2011, February). Did the stimulus stimulate? real time estimates of the effects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w16759/w16759.pdf

[16]. History.com Editors. (2021, September 14). Occupy Wall Street begins. History.com. Retrieved August 14, 2022, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/occupy-wall-street-begins-zuccotti-park

[17]. Krugman, P. (2013, April 22). The jobless trap. The New York Times. Retrieved July 30, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/opinion/krugman-the-jobless-trap.html

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