Mental health studies have demonstrated that the MHI-5 is an effective screening tool for high-prevalence mental disorders in general communities. The MHI-5 data from HILDA have been used a number of times in investigating mental health (e.g. Berry and Welsh, 2010; Kielyet al., 2015). We also used the following other independent characteristics from the survey: educational qualifications (year 11 or below), age, yearly gross wage and income, a negative life event experience in the past year,3 gender and marital status. The selected demographic variables were based on previous literature findings and the availability of data in HILDA.