SOCIAL COMPARISON OF HOUSEHOLD ECONOMIC STATUS AND MENTAL WELL-BEING IN THAILAND

Abstract

This research aimed to study the effects of relative household economic status (expenditure) on Thai mental well-being (life satisfaction), including overall and disaggregated effects by age group. Data from the 2020 Household Socio-Economic Survey comprising the Thai Mental Health Survey were adopted and analyzed by Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regressions. The entire and adult sample results revealed that relative household expenditure, where the reference group was people living in the same province and area type, positively affected Thai life satisfaction, implying that the widening gap in household economic status improved (worsened) the mental well-being of the richer (poorer). However, relative household expenditure did not affect the life satisfaction of Thai youth and elderly.