Assessing Importance of Socioeconomic Factors, Drug Use, and Physical Health on Depression and Anxiety Rates in Northern Minnesota: A Statistical Approach
Mental health research has been growing but rural areas are often not analyzed. The data used in this report comes from the Bridge to Health 2015 survey, which was distributed to nine counties near the Duluth area (N=4660). The report focuses on mental health, specifically depression and anxiety. In the survey 24.7 percent of participants stated they suffer from or have suffered from depression. 20.2 percent of participants in the survey stated they suffer from or have suffered from anxiety. The goal and purpose of the research was to find and analyze statistically significant socioeconomic, health, and personal factors that impact mental health in Northeastern Minnesota. All data analysis was performed in Excel or Rstudio V.4.3.2. Logistic models were used to interpret and analyze the data to find significant factors impacting mental health. The logistic regression model for depression determined that chronic pain, sleep disorders, food supply, gender identity, and alcohol consumption are statically significant predictors for depression. The anxiety model determined that availability of emotional support, sleep disorders, food supply, gender identity, and alcohol consumption are statically significant predictors for the anxiety model. This report only interprets the data statistically and offers no explanation as for why these factors are psychologically significant.