Objective:

To analyse the relationship between precarious employment, measured by dimensions and as a multidimensional index, on the mental health of salaried men and women in the Basque Country (Spain).

Method:

A subsample (n=3345) of the 2018 Basque Autonomous Community Health Survey was used to calculate the standardised prevalence of poor mental health according to the degree of precarious employment, measured as a composite scale and by each of its dimensions, and to perform robust Poisson regression models to analyse the association between precarious employment, also composite and by dimensions, and the mental health of the salaried population.

Results:

Precarious employment is significantly associated with poor mental health among men (prevalence ratio [PR]: 3.51; 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 2.05-6.01) and women (PR: 3.42; 95%CI: 2.35-4.97). Additionally, some of its constituent dimensions, such as wage level among both sexes (PR: 2.58, 95%CI: 1.65-4.03, and PR: 2.29, 95%CI: 1.58-3.32) or vulnerability among women (PR: 2.55; 95%CI: 1.80-3.61), also appear to be significantly and independently related to poorer mental health status.

Conclusions:

It is necessary to approach precarious employment from a multidimensional perspective, and to know the relative importance of each of its dimensions, both for research into its effects on health and for policy interventions directed at combating this phenomenon.

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