Table 5.

Impact of social protection expenditures on the change in the probability of worsened mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in 26 European countries, June–August 2020.

	Worsened mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
	Models 1-9
	Sample
Per 1,000 € increase in social protection expenditures per capita	All	−0.00339
	(n = 49880)	(-0.00760–0.000829)
	Poor/fair health	−0.00787*
	(n = 16523)	(-0.0155 to −0.000261)
	Unemployed	−0.0233**
	(n = 1888)	(-0.0407 to −0.00592)
	≥65 years old	−0.00499**
	(n = 35292)	(-0.00826 to −0.00172)
	Difficulty make ends meet	0.00198
	(n = 17423)	(-0.00767–0.0116)
Per 1,000 € increase in health care/sickness expenditures per capita	All	−0.0130*
	(n = 49880)	(-0.0230 to −0.00311)
	Poor/fair health	−0.0219*
	(n = 16523)	(-0.0404 to −0.00340)
Per 1,000 € increase in unemployment benefits expenditures per capita	Unemployed	−0.380*
	(n = 1888)	(-0.711 to −0.0504)
Per 1,000 € increase in pensions/old age expenditures per capita	≥65 years old	0.00375
	(n = 35292)	(-0.00598–0.0135)

95% confidence intervals in brackets.

*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

Constant calculated but not shown.

All models adjusted by age, gender, health status before the pandemic, tested positive for COVID-19 oneself or someone close, household size, total COVID-19 cases per million inhabitants, and stringency index of policy responses to the pandemic.