Will the Public's Health Fall Victim to the Home Foreclosure Epidemic?

article has not abstract

Published in the journal: Will the Public's Health Fall Victim to the Home Foreclosure Epidemic?. PLoS Med 6(6): e32767. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000087
Category: Essay
doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000087

Summary

article has not abstract

Summary Points

While policy makers worldwide have scrambled to counter its economic effects, the potential health implications of home foreclosure have received little empirical attention.
Home foreclosure can be viewed as a stressful life event of prolonged duration, with multiple phases of variable intensity.
Although no studies to date have reported the specific health effects of home foreclosure, we posit that foreclosure may be associated with a range of psychological and health behavior outcomes that, in turn, might increase chronic disease risk.
Susceptibility to home foreclosure might involve both compositional and contextual dimensions.
Delinquency management policies designed to prevent foreclosures from occurring are arguably best suited to protect the health of those at greatest risk.

Introduction

Over two million United States households have been affected by home foreclosure (or “home repossession”) in 2008 alone [1], and the epidemic shows no signs of abating. Following market downturns caused by the bursting of the dot-com bubble, mortgage interest rates were sharply lowered in the US and abroad [2],[3]. These actions resulted in massive home refinancing, dramatic increases in home demand, and higher home prices—from 1997–2006, home prices increased 124% in the US, with greater increases in Europe: 194% in Britain and 180% in Spain, and 253% in Ireland. Home ownership in the US also hit record levels [2],[3],[4] and was especially pronounced among racial/ethnic minorities, those of low socioeconomic status, and young adults [2], likely driven by the widespread availability of subprime mortgages [4],[5]. However, housing supply soon outstripped demand, prices dropped, and many homeowners—more than 7.5 million in 2005—owed more than their homes were worth [6]. Between 2006 and 2008, foreclosure filings increased 225% in the US [1].

While the literature has not fully explicated the health effects of foreclosure, related exposures have been linked with increased risk for several mental and physical health conditions [7]–[13]. This, combined with the frequent finding that home ownership has largely positive associations with health and well-being [14]–[17], suggests that the current raft of home foreclosures may represent an increasing health threat.

Home Foreclosure as a Stressor

Losing a home through foreclosure is not a single occurrence. In the US, it is an often-protracted and highly aversive process, usually beginning with mortgage delinquency, which may lead the lender to initiate the legal process of foreclosure, which, if unresolved, can result in homeowner eviction and repossession of the home. Home sale proceeds are wholly retained by US banks, but in the United Kingdom and other nations, net profits (after debts are settled) are generally returned to homeowners. In the US, the foreclosure process differs substantially depending on the regulatory environment [18],[19], may include judicial supervision [20], and can range from several months to over a year [21],[22]. Thus, home foreclosure can be viewed as a stressful life event of prolonged duration, with multiple phases of variable intensity [23]. Indeed, several life event inventories [24],[25] and semi-structured interviews [26] have included foreclosure among the range of assessed events. For example, on the widely used Social Readjustment Rating Scale [24], which rates the stressfulness of 43 life events, foreclosure was originally rated number 21 in 1967. In a 1997 update, however, foreclosure surged to number 11 [27]. Interpreting the available evidence is challenging because the analytic convention has been to sum items on life events inventories [28], rather than to examine discrete events, so we know little about the independent effects of foreclosure. However, we suspect that if foreclosure-related stress surpasses one's ability to cope [29], it may unduly affect psychological functioning and health behavior practices—important health endpoints as well as tightly interrelated mechanisms through which foreclosure may heighten risk for several chronic conditions (e.g., cardiovascular disease) [30].

Potential Psychological Responses to Home Foreclosure

The experience of stressful life events has been implicated in the etiology of both anxiety and depressive disorders [31]–[33]. There is particularly strong evidence that stressful life events are causally related with the initial episode of depression. The intensity of the foreclosure process may make it especially deleterious, as depression risk increases in a dose-response manner [34] with the severity and number of stressful life events experienced. Several additional issues are particularly concerning with respect to depression outcomes. First, it appears that chronic stressors (e.g., job strain, financial strain) can exacerbate the impact of adverse life events on depression outcomes, particularly when the domain of the two exposures is concordant. This is salient because home foreclosure typically occurs amidst long-term financial difficulties, and thus may be tied to chronic stressors that have known associations with adverse health outcomes [7]–[13]. For example, chronic financial strain has been positively associated with depressive symptomatology in populations from the US [35]–[38], UK [11], and China [39]. Next, relative to fateful occurrences, depression is more strongly related to stressful life events for which the individual perceives having some responsibility [34]. This belief might be particularly common among the foreclosed [40], despite widespread acknowledgment of deceptive mortgage industry practices [41]–[43]. Additionally, concern regarding one's limited personal control of the foreclosure process may also intensify the impact of stress on depression [44],[45]. Several studies have shown that depressed individuals can act in ways that promote their subsequent exposure to additional negative life events (e.g., occupational problems, financial difficulties, interpersonal conflict) [46]. Together, there appears to be potential for the already daunting global burden of depression [47] (including its role as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease [48]) to be magnified by the foreclosure crisis.

Potential Impact of Home Foreclosure on Health Behaviors

Unhealthful behaviors may be used to cope with stressful life events. Stress is positively associated with myriad such health behaviors, including tobacco use [49],[50], alcohol consumption [51], sleep dysregulation [52], and weight gain [53]–[56]—perhaps via decreased physical activity [56] and increased consumption of energy-dense foods [57]–[59]. Home foreclosure may also impact health care utilization. Financially stressed individuals report fewer preventive doctor visits [60],[61] and reduced prescription medication adherence [62]. If current economic trends continue, this may become increasingly common; a recent survey showed that given the economic climate over half of Americans aged 45 and older switched to generic or non-prescription drugs, 16% delayed preventive care, and over one-fifth delayed seeing a doctor [63].

Who Might Be Most Vulnerable to the Health Effects of Home Foreclosure?

Susceptibility to home foreclosure might involve both compositional and contextual dimensions. Those with lower socioeconomic status and some ethnic minorities may have higher likelihood and severity of exposure, as well as potential challenges in securing stress-buffering resources. At the individual level, most of those who experience foreclosures will not exhibit adverse health effects [64]. Even in the face of extreme stressors, most people are sufficiently resilient to stressful events [65]. However, individual characteristics such as prior psychiatric or adverse health histories [30], poor coping skills [35],[66]–[68], low social support [35], neuroticism [69], low self-esteem [70], and highly valuing economic success [71] may heighten vulnerability.

The macroeconomic context has had profound and far-ranging effects that might exacerbate foreclosure's potential health effects. Unemployment in developed nations is at historic levels, and home prices show no immediate signs of rebounding. Soaring food, energy, and health care prices in recent years have added to the financial strain of the average household [2]. Whether the macroeconomic climate directly impacts individual health is disputed [72]–[75], but adverse contextual circumstances are more prevalent in times of economic decline and may interact with foreclosure to increase stress exposure. Among the range of problematic macroeconomic indicators [72]–[75], unemployment is arguably most concerning [7],[76]–[78]. In better economic cycles, opportunities to mitigate the ill effects of job loss (e.g., re-employment, loan refinancing, social services) may be more plentiful. However, the combination of unemployment (which itself poses health risks [79]–[82]) and foreclosure in the current economic environment may be particularly deleterious.

When foreclosures occur, they are accompanied by significant externalities at the neighborhood level [83]–[85] that might impact resident's health. For example, foreclosures spur neighborhood disinvestment, home vacancies, and property abandonment [18], which can result in lower property values, reduced local services [22], and violent crime [86]. When foreclosures reach a critical mass [22], these varied problems can economically weaken the neighborhood [87] and create a sense of social disorder, fear, and distrust [88],[89], all of which may negatively influence residents' health and health behaviors [90],[91]. Neighborhoods hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis (older, urban areas [21],[92]) were previously improving in stability [19],[93]; however, continuous foreclosures in these neighborhoods may threaten stability and decrease resident social capital, which might in turn heighten associated health risks [94],[95].

Priorities for Future Research

As noted, we are unaware of any studies that have specifically investigated the health effects of home foreclosure. In a closely related report, however, Taylor [96] recently showed that UK residents with housing payment problems had poorer levels of psychological well-being, independent of financial hardship. These psychological costs were positively related to financial problems of greater intensity and duration. Several questions emerge from this and other work. First, how does home foreclosure interact with other stressful life events (e.g., job loss, medical costs [79],[97],[98]) and/or chronic stressors (e.g., financial strain [11],[99]) to impact health outcomes? Among the chronically stressed (e.g., those in persistent poverty), is a saturation effect observed, i.e., are such individuals more resilient to the stress of home foreclosure [100]? Also, it is unclear how the macroeconomic climate might exacerbate, or even inoculate (given the increasingly normative nature of foreclosure) individuals to foreclosure stress. Research is necessary to examine how home foreclosure impacts other household members, such as partners and dependent children [7]. Finally, given the social patterning of mortgage lending [44],[101],[102], future studies should examine whether widening of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in foreclosure-related health outcomes has occurred. Widespread variation in foreclosure exposure affords the unfortunate opportunity to study these and other questions using “natural experiment” investigations.

Policy Approaches

Two broad categories of home foreclosure remediation policies have received most attention: (1) those that prevent the onset of the foreclosure process, and (2) those that delay home eviction following mortgage delinquency. In the US for example, several states have passed legislation to help homeowners prevent foreclosures by increasing mortgage industry oversight, improving loan term disclosures, and requiring lenders to formally communicate with borrowers prior to foreclosure initiation. The Obama administration has introduced the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, which allows for easier mortgage refinancing for non-delinquent homeowners. This is in contrast to a policy proposed by the former Bush administration (and endorsed by Obama as a candidate) that would have instituted national foreclosure moratoria, allowing more time for renegotiation of loan terms prior to eviction.

As foreclosure prevention policies have been debated over the past 18 months, health has been infrequently mentioned—perhaps understandable given the limited evidence of foreclosure's health effects. Nevertheless, delinquency management policies designed to prevent foreclosures from occurring are arguably best suited to protect the health of those at greatest risk. Even though overextended homeowners' chronic financial strain would likely continue, early intervention policies would ensure that individuals are protected from the exacerbating effects of foreclosure-related stress. This is in contrast to policies that extend the period of foreclosure preceding eviction. Although the individual and neighborhood benefits of such policies are not trivial, they also have the potential to transform home foreclosure into a chronic stressor, which could magnify stress exposure and health risks.

It is particularly challenging to determine which policies are most beneficial to the health of delinquent homeowners facing imminent eviction. Such policies are likely to vary considerably across nations, given differences in the magnitude of exposure as well as variation in societal perspectives regarding the provision of assistance for what may be perceived to be a “personal responsibility.” In the US for example, it seems unlikely that foreclosure prevention policies will be enacted with the specific goal of offsetting foreclosure-associated health risks, but other nations offer useful models. For example, the UK has recently announced a plan to facilitate referrals for psychological counseling to assist those facing unemployment and debt, including the scores affected by housing repossession [103]. Additionally, strategies that would assist families to identify permanent, affordable housing might ease their residential transition following foreclosure.

Conclusion

Although current foreclosure rates are unprecedented, such economic downturns are generally thought to be cyclical, suggesting that recovery may be on the horizon [2]. However, the near-term outlook for many homeowners is poor, as home prices are expected to continue to decline. A recent United Nations report projected that 50 million job losses will occur worldwide, which will likely magnify the current foreclosure crisis [104]. Successful governmental responses to the foreclosure crisis specifically, and to the global economic crisis in general, will require health and social policy coordination that safeguards household income, stabilizes commodity prices, helps citizens maintain health care, and prevents disruption in children's education [105]. In so doing, short- and long-term health effects of the foreclosure epidemic might be mitigated.

Zdroje

1. RealtyTrac Staff 2009 Foreclosure activity increases 81 percent in 2008. Available: http://www.realtytrac.com/ContentManagement/pressrelease.aspx?ChannelID=9&ItemID=5681. Accessed 5 May 2009

2. Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University 2008 The state of the nation's housing 2008. Available: http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/son/index.htm. Accessed 5 May 2009

3. The New York Times 2009 Credit crisis—The essentials. Available: http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/credit_crisis/. Accessed 5 May 2009

4. [No authors listed] 2007 October 18 CSI: Credit crunch. The Economist (US) 385 4

5. 2001 Expanded Guidance for Subprime Lending Programs Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Thrift Supervision. Available: http://files.ots.treas.gov/25137.pdf. Accessed 5 May 2009

6. ChristieL

2008 7.5 million homeowners ‘underwater’. CNN/Money Available: http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/30/real_estate/underwater_borrowers/index.htm?cnn=yes. Accessed 5 May 2009

7. DooleyD

FieldingJ

LeviL

1996 Health and unemployment. Annu Rev Public Health 17 449 465

8. GalloWT

BradleyEH

SiegelM

KaslSV

2000 Health effects of involuntary job loss among older workers: Findings from the health and retirement survey. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 55 S131 S140

9. GrossiG

PerskiA

LundbergU

SoaresJ

2001 Associations between financial strain and the diurnal salivary cortisol secretion of long-term unemployed individuals. Integr Physiol Behav Sci 36 205 219

10. ShorttSED

1996 Is unemployment pathogenic? A review of current concepts with lessons for policy planners. Int J Health Serv 26 569 589

11. WeichS

LewisG

1998 Poverty, unemployment, and common mental disorders: Population based cohort study. BMJ 317 115 119

12. BelkicKL

LandsbergisPA

SchnallPL

BakerD

2004 Is job strain a major source of cardiovascular disease risk? Scand J Work Environ Health 30 85 128

13. BosmaH

PeterR

SiegristJ

MarmotM

1998 Two alternative job stress models and the risk of coronary heart disease. Am J Pub Health 88 68 74

14. PollackCE

von dem KnesebeckO

SiegristJ

2004 Housing and health in Germany. J Epidemiol Community Health 58 216 222

15. SearleB

SmithS

CookN

2009 From housing wealth to well-being? Sociol Health Illn 31 112 127

16. DunnJ

HayesM

2000 Social inequality, population health, and housing: A study of two Vancouver neighborhoods. Soc Sci Med 51 563 587

17. DietzRD

HaurinDR

2003 The social and private micro-level consequences of homeownership. J Urban Econ 54 401 450

18. MallachA

2009 Stabalizing communities: A federal response to the secondary impacts of the foreclosure crisis. Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings. Available: http://www.brookings.edu/reports/2009/02_foreclosure_crisis_mallach.aspx. Accessed 5 May 2009

19. RichterF

2008 An analysis of foreclosure rate differentials in soft markets. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Working Paper No. 08-11. Available: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1316978. Accessed 5 May 2009

20. PenceKM

2006 Foreclosing on opportunity: State laws and mortgage credit. Rev Econ Stat 88 177 182

21. ImmergluckD

2007 Will “streamlining” the mortgage foreclosure process reduce vacancy and abandonment? Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Working Paper: WP07DI1

22. SchuetzJ

BeenV

Gould EllenI

2008 Neighborhood effects of concentrated mortgage foreclosures. J Housing Econ 17 306 319

23. BrownGW

HarrisT

1978 Social origins of depression London Tavistock Publications

24. HolmesTH

RaheRH

1967 The social adjustment rating scale. J Psychosom Res 11 213

25. DohrenwendBS

KrasnoffL

AskenasyAR

DohrenwendBP

1978 Exemplification of a method for scaling life events: The Peri Life Events Scale. J Health Soc Behav 19 205 229

26. DohrenwendB

RaphaelK

SchwartzS

StueveA

SkodolA

1993 The structured event probe and narrative rating method for measuring stressful life events.

GoldbergerL

BreznitzS

Handbook of stress: Theoretical and clinical aspects 174 199

27. ScullyJ

TosiH

BanningK

2000 Life event checklists: Revisiting the social readjustment rating scale after 30 years. Educ Psychol Meas 60 864

28. DohrenwendB

2006 Inventorying stressful life events as risk factors for psychopathology: Toward resolution of the problem of intracategory variability. Psychol Bull 132 477

29. LazarusRS

FolkmanS

1984 Stress, appraisal, and coping New York Springer Publishing Company 445

30. SchneidermanN

IronsonG

SiegelSD

2005 Stress and health: Psychological, behavioral, and biological determinants. Annu Rev Clin Psychol 1 607 628

31. FaravelliC

PallantiS

1989 Recent life events and panic disorder. Am J Psychiatry 146 622 626

32. KendlerKS

GardnerCO

PrescottCA

2003 Personality and the experience of environmental adversity. Psychol Med 33 1193 1202

33. Finlay-JonesR

BrownGW

1981 Types of stressful life event and the onset of anxiety and depressive disorders. Psychol Med 11 803 815

34. KendlerKS

KarkowskiLM

PrescottCA

1998 Stressful life events and major depression: Risk period, long-term contextual threat, and diagnostic specificity. J Nerv Ment Dis 186 661 661

35. KrauseN

1987 Chronic financial strain, social support, and depressive symptoms among older adults. Psychol Aging 2 185 192

36. AngelRJ

FriscoM

AngelJL

ChiribogaDA

2003 Financial strain and health among elderly Mexican-origin individuals. J Health Soc Behav 44 536 551

37. LincolnKD

ChattersLM

TaylorRJ

2005 Social support, traumatic events, and depressive symptoms among African Americans. J Marriage Fam 67 754 766

38. ChiribogaDA

BlackSA

ArandaM

MarkidesK

2002 Stress and depressive symptoms among Mexican American elders. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 57 P559 P568

39. KrauseN

LiangJ

GuS

1998 Financial strain, received support, anticipated support, and depressive symptoms in the People's Republic of China. Psychol Aging 13 58 68

40. FieldsD

LibmanK

SaegertS

ClarkH

JustaF

2007 Understanding responses to the threat of foreclosure among low-income homeowners. Housing Environments Research Group. Available: http://web.gc.cuny.edu/che/FinalReport7122007.pdf. Accessed 5 May 2009

41. [No authors listed] 2007 November 27 ‘Predatory’ politics. The Wall Street Journal 18 Available: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119612958721004797.html. Accessed 5 May 2009

42. [No authors listed] 2007 February 7 Subprime politics. The Wall Street Journal 14 Available: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117081934419800473.html. Accessed 5 May 2009

43. SchroederM

2006 March 31 Mortgage lenders dismiss concerns over risky loans. The Wall Street Journal 2 Available: http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/mortgages/20060331-schroeder.html. Accessed 5 May 2009

44. NettletonS

BurrowsR

2001 Families coping with the experience of mortgage repossession in the ‘new landscape of precariousness’. Community Work Fam 4 253 272

45. BenassiVA

SweeneyPD

DufourCL

1988 Is there a relation between locus of control orientation and depression? J Abnorm Psychol 97 357 367

46. HammenC

2006 Stress generation in depression: Reflections on origins, research, and future directions. J Clin Psychol 62 1065 1082

47. MathersCD

LoncarD

2006 Projections of global mortality and burden of disease from 2002 to 2030. PLoS Med 3 e442 doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0030442

48. RuguliesR

2002 Depression as a predictor for coronary heart disease: A review and meta-analysis. Am J Prev Med 23 51 61

49. BennettGG

WolinKY

RobinsonEL

FowlerS

EdwardsCL

2005 Perceived racial/ethnic harassment and tobacco use among African American young adults. Am J Public Health 95 238 240

50. ColbyJPJr

LinskyAS

StrausMA

1994 Social stress and state-to-state differences in smoking and smoking related mortality in the United States. Soc Sci Med 38 373 381

51. BradyKT

SonneSC

1999 The role of stress in alcohol use, alcoholism treatment, and relapse. Alcohol Res Health 23 263 271

52. HallM

BuysseDJ

NofzingerEA

ReynoldsCF3rd

ThompsonW

2008 Financial strain is a significant correlate of sleep continuity disturbances in late-life. Biol Psychol 77 217 222

53. SmithAW

BaumA

WingRR

2005 Stress and weight gain in parents of cancer patients. Int J Obes (Lond) 29 244 250

54. KorkeilaM

KaprioJ

RissanenA

KoshenvuoM

SorensenTI

1998 Predictors of major weight gain in adult Finns: Stress, life satisfaction and personality traits. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 22 949 957

55. FezeuL

MinkoulouE

BalkauB

KengneAP

AwahP

2006 Association between socioeconomic status and adiposity in urban Cameroon. Int J Epidemiol 35 105 111

56. NelsonMC

LustK

StoryM

EhlingerE

2008 Credit card debt, stress and key health risk behaviors among college students. Am J Health Promot 22 400 407

57. DallmanMF

PecoraroN

AkanaSF

La FleurSE

GomezF

2003 Chronic stress and obesity: A new view of “comfort food”. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 100 11696 11701

58. DallmanMF

PecoraroNC

la FleurSE

2005 Chronic stress and comfort foods: Self-medication and abdominal obesity. Brain Behav Immun 19 275 280

59. LaitinenJ

EkE

SovioU

2002 Stress-related eating and drinking behavior and body mass index and predictors of this behavior. Prev Med 34 29 39

60. SterkC

TheallK

ElifsonK

2002 Health care utilization among drug-using and non-drug-using women. J Urban Health 79 586 599

61. VirtanenP

KivimakiM

VahteraJ

KoskenvuoM

2006 Employment status and differences in the one-year coverage of physician visits: Different needs or unequal access to services? BMC Health Serv Res 6 123

62. CobaughDJ

AngnerE

KiefeCI

RayMN

LaCivitaCL

2008 Effect of racial differences on ability to afford prescription medications. Am J Health Syst Pharm 65 2137 2143

63. KeenanT

2008 Impact of the economy on health behaviors. AARP Knowledge Management Available: http://www.aarp.org/research/health/carefinancing/healthcosts_08.html. Accessed 5 May 2009

64. KesslerRC

1997 The effects of stressful life events on depression. Ann Rev Psychol 48 191 214

65. BleichA

GelkopfM

SolomonZ

2003 Exposure to terrorism, stress-related mental health symptoms, and coping behaviors among a nationally representative sample in Israel. JAMA 290 612 620

66. ChouKL

ChiI

2002 Financial strain and life satisfaction in Hong Kong elderly Chinese: Moderating effect of life management strategies including selection, optimization, and compensation. Aging Ment Health 6 172 177

67. LinnMW

SandiferR

SteinS

1985 Effects of unemployment on mental and physical health. Am J Public Health 75 502 506

68. MoosRH

BrennanPL

SchutteKK

MoosBS

2006 Older adults' coping with negative life events: Common processes of managing health, interpersonal, and financial/work stressors. Int J Aging Hum Dev 62 39 59

69. KendlerKS

KuhnJ

PrescottCA

2004 The interrelationship of neuroticism, sex, and stressful life events in the prediction of episodes of major depression. Am J Psychiatry 161 631 636

70. BifulcoA

BrownGW

MoranP

BallC

CampbellC

1998 Predicting depression in women: the role of past and present vulnerability. Psychol Med 28 39 50

71. KrauseN

BakerE

1992 Financial strain, economic values, and somatic symptoms in later life. Psychol Aging 7 4 14

72. CatalanoR

BellowsB

2005 Commentary: If economic expansion threatens public health, should epidemiologists recommend recession? Int J Epidemiol 34 1212 1213

73. CharlesKK

DeCiccaP

2008 Local labor market fluctuations and health: Is there a connection and for whom? J Health Econ 27 1532 1550

74. LaporteA

2004 Do economic cycles have a permanent effect on population health: Revisiting the Brenner hypothesis. Health Econ 13 767 779

75. RuhmCJ

2004 Macroeconomic conditions, health, and mortality. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 11007

76. CahillJ

1983 Structural characteristics of the macroeconomy and mental health: Implications for primary prevention research. Am J Community Psychol 11 553 571

77. ColledgeM

1982 Towards a sociological understanding of the impact of the recession on health and illness. Soc Sci Med 16 1927

78. KaslSV

1982 Strategies of research on economic instability and health. Psychol Med 12 637 649

79. BurgardSA

BrandJE

HouseJS

2007 Toward a better estimation of the effect of job loss on health. J Health Soc Behav 48 369 384

80. GalloWT

BradleyEH

TengHM

KaslSV

2006 The effect of recurrent involuntary job loss on the depressive symptoms of older US workers. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 80 109 116

81. PriceRH

ChoiJN

VinokurAD

2002 Links in the chain of adversity following job loss: How financial strain and loss of personal control lead to depression, impaired functioning, and poor health. J Occup Health Psychol 7 302 312

82. TurnerJB

1995 Economic context and the health effects of unemployment. J Health Soc Behav 36 213 229

83. ImmergluckD

SmithG

2005 Measuring the effects of subprime lending on neighborhood foreclosures: Evidence from Chicago. Urban Aff Rev 40 362 389

84. ImmergluckD

SmithG

2006 The external costs of foreclosure: The impact of single-family mortgage foreclosures on property values. Housing Policy Debate 17 57 79

85. LinZ

RosenblattE

YaoVW

2009 Spillover effects of foreclosures on neighborhood property values. Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics 38 Available: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1033437. Accessed 6 May 2009

86. ImmergluckD

SmithG

2005 The impact of single-family mortgage foreclosures on neighborhood crime. Proceedings Available: http://ideas.repec.org/a/fip/fedhpr/y2005iaprx6.html. Accessed 6 May 2009

87. PedersenC

DelgadilloL

2007 Residential mortgage default in low- and high-minority census tracts. Fam Consum Sci Res J 35 374 391

88. SampsonRJ

RaudenbushSW

2004 Seeing disorder: Neighborhood stigma and the social construction of “Broken Windows”. Soc Psychol Q 67 319 342

89. KrauseN

1996 Neighborhood deterioration and self-rated health in later life. Psychol Aging 11 342 352

90. CarpianoRM

2006 Toward a neighborhood resource-based theory of social capital for health: Can Bourdieu and sociology help? Soc Sci Med 62 165 175

91. BalfourJL

KaplanGA

2002 Neighborhood environment and loss of physical function in older adults: Evidence from the Alameda County Study. Am J Epidemiol 155 507 515

92. GroverM

SmithL

ToddRM

2008 Targeting foreclosure interventions: An analysis of neighborhood characteristics associated with high foreclosure rates in two Minnesota counties. J Econ Bus 60 91 109

93. The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City 2008 Foreclosures and the inner city: The current mortgage crisis and its inner city implications. Available: http://www.icic.org/atf/cf/7BC81898B2-76E9-4A18-B838-A3F65C9F06B97D/ICICReport_ForeclosuresInnerCityFINAL20080421.pdf. Accessed 6 May 2009

94. KawachiI

1997 Social capital, income inequality, and mortality. Am Public Health 87 1491 1498

95. KawachiI

BerkmanL

2003 Neighborhoods and health Oxford Oxford University Press

96. TaylorMP

PevalinDJ

ToddJ

2007 The psychological costs of unsustainable housing commitments. Psychol Med 37 1027 1036

97. FerrieJE

ShipleyMJ

MarmotMG

StansfeldS

SmithGD

1995 Health effects of anticipation of job change and non-employment: Longitudinal data from the Whitehall II study. BMJ 311 1264 1269

98. KesslerRC

TurnerJB

HouseJS

1987 Intervening processes in the relationship between unemployment and health. Psychol Med 17 949 961

99. KahnJR

PearlinLI

2006 Financial strain over the life course and health among older adults. J Health Soc Behav 47 17 31

100. CairneyJ

BoyleM

OffordDR

RacineY

2003 Stress, social support and depression in single and married mothers. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 38 442 449

101. BocianDG

ErnstKS

LiW

2008 Race, ethnicity and subprime home loan pricing. J Econ Bus 60 110 124

102. FooteCL

GerardiK

GoetteL

WillenPS

2008 Just the facts: An initial analysis of subprime's role in the housing crisis. J Hous Econ 17 291 305

103. BarefootJC

HeitmannBL

HelmsMJ

WilliamsRB

SurwitRS

1998 Symptoms of depression and changes in body weight from adolescence to mid-life. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 22 688 694

104. International Labour Office 2008 Global employment trends. Available: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/download/get08.pdf. Accessed 6 May 2009

105. World Health Organization 2009 The financial crisis and global health: Report of a high-level consultation. Available: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/meetings/2009_financial_crisis_report_en_.pdf. Accessed 5 May 2009