{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T02:03:04Z","timestamp":1789351384650,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,13]],"date-time":"2026-08-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786579200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":9,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000269","name":"Economic and Social Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["ES\/P000649\/1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ES\/P000649\/1"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000269","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Mental well-being has been shown to follow a U-shaped pattern across the life course in cohorts studied to date, with psychological distress worsening as people enter their forties. The reasons for this decline remain a puzzle. This study examined the social determinants associated with this phenomenon and their relative importance as predictors of mid-life mental health. We used data from the 1970 British Cohort Study, aged 26, 34, and 42 (N\u2009=\u20096992, 51.5% female). Mental distress was measured with the nine-item Malaise Inventory. We contrasted a group of those whose mental health declined with those exhibiting stable mental health. Random forest (RF) and logistic regression models explored whether decline was predicted by socio-economic and family factors, physical health, and health behaviours (at ages 26, 34, or birth). Social class at birth (variable importance [VI]\u2009=\u20090.027) and income quintile at 34 (VI = 0.027) were the most important predictors in RF analysis. Regression confirmed that working-class background (odds ratio [OR]\u2009=\u20091.53 [1.27\u20131.85]) and being in the highest-income quintile at 34 (OR = 0.68 [0.53\u20130.88]) strongly predicted the mental health decline. The predicted probability of decline was two and a half times higher for those with an unfavourable, compared to a favourable, combination of social determinants (28% vs 11%). Importantly, a working-class background was not associated with mental health decline between ages 26 and 34. Early-life social class and income were among the strongest predictors of mid-life psychological distress. Decline was concentrated among those exposed to economic disadvantage, suggesting that this group should be a particular focus of mid-life mental health prevention and support.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/eurpub\/ckag146","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T11:24:10Z","timestamp":1785151450000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Social determinants of mid-life mental health decline: a life-course analysis from the 1970 British Cohort Study"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"36","author":[{"given":"Christoph","family":"Henking","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford , Oxford,","place":["United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aaron","family":"Reeves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sociology, London School of Economics and Political Science , London,","place":["United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026091321121815000_ckag146-B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"30","DOI":"10.1016\/j.paid.2015.01.027","article-title":"The stability and change of Malaise scores over 27 years: findings from a nationally representative sample","volume":"79","author":"Furnham","year":"2015","journal-title":"Pers Individ Dif"},{"key":"2026091321121815000_ckag146-B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1471","DOI":"10.1017\/S003329172000327X","article-title":"Psychological distress from early adulthood to early old age: evidence from the 1946, 1958 and 1970 British birth cohorts","volume":"52","author":"Gondek","year":"2022","journal-title":"Psychol Med"},{"key":"2026091321121815000_ckag146-B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1007","DOI":"10.1007\/S00127-021-02206-6\/FIGURES\/4","article-title":"How is the distribution of psychological distress changing over time? 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