Worsening societal distress and widening disparities during the 2007 – 2009 Recession

Objective: To detail the prevalence of societal distress in terms of food security, housing, health, education and income and temporal trends during and after the recession in the magnitude and distribution of distress in the U.S. population and in three states: Michigan, Mississippi and New Mexico.

Methods: Using national and state microdata from reputable source agencies in multiple years, we stratified metrics indicative of societal distress (e.g., poverty, food insecurity, housing cost burden, lack of health insurance, etc.) by key demographics such as age, gender, race-ethnicity, education, income, and household characteristics to determine temporal effects during the recession.

Results: The prevalence of distress increased dramatically during the recession, in some instances continuing a trend that predated the recession and in others revealing a clear inflection point within the first year. Societal distress was accentuated among the poor, those without a high school education, and young adults (age 18 to 24). Most racial groups fared worse than white populations. In Michigan and Mississippi, African Americans exhibited profound increases in societal distress, while in New Mexico the largest increases occurred among Hispanics.

Conclusions: The global recession had sweeping effects on societal distress at the national and state level, but vulnerable populations already bearing a disproportionate burden experienced more accentuated deterioration in living conditions than more advantaged groups. The implications of this trend for equity and downstream health outcomes will be discussed.