Accumulation of welfare problems

Everyday life represents various strains and limitations of freedom, such as low income, bad health and social isolation. To what extent is there an accumulation of welfare problems such as these in the Norwegian adult population? In addition to exploring this question, we also look into which problems correlate the most with other problems, which groups have the highest level of accumulation, and finally we explore the association between accumulation and subjective quality of life (satisfaction). The data source is the Survey of level of living EU-SILC 2013. On the basis of this survey, problems within the following seven welfare domains have been singled out: Labor market, health, economy, social relations, mental distress, local environment and housing.

In general, the accumulation of problems decline with age. It is first and foremost the disabled and the unemployed that have a multitude of difficulties to cope with. The analysis also shows that single parents and persons born abroad, particularly in Africa, Asia and Latin-America etc., are among the most challenged groups. In addition, a high level of accumulation is found among social assistance recipients. Considering the level of education, persons with primary education only are the most challenged, while those who have secondary education are in an intermediate position, and the persons with college or university education have the lowest level of accumulation. For the most widespread of all problem combinations, i.e. both diminished health and weak labor market integration, the educational level is of particular importance.

If a person is exposed to one problem, there is an increased probability of also being exposed to other problems. However, most correlations between domains are rather weak, although statistically significant. Comparing the different domains, problems related to the economy have the highest correlation with other problems. Problems concerning housing and the local environment seem to be much more randomly distributed in the population. The highest correlation is found between mental distress and economic problems. There is also a relatively high correlation between diminished health and weak labor market integration, particularly among middle-aged persons (45-66).

There is clearly an association between the accumulation of welfare problems and life satisfaction. Each additional problem is related to a further fall in the level of satisfaction. Comparing the different problem domains, it is above all mental distress that has the largest explanatory power.