This study looks at the association between formal systems of support (unemployment compensation or welfare) and mental health outcomes during periods of unemployment. It assesses whether unemployed persons not receiving unemployment benefits are at greater risk of reporting depression and suffering ill-health than those receiving some kind of unemployment compensation, independent of total household income. The authors performed a secondary analysis of data collected in the National Survey of Families and Households, 1987–1988. Outcome measures included an index of depression and perception of health status. Multiple regression analyses were used. The unemployed receiving unemployment compensation or benefits from other entitlement programs did not report significantly higher depression relative to the employed. Rather, the study found a significantly higher index of depression among unemployed persons receiving welfare benefits or no benefits, even after controlling for total household income and previous employment/unemployment history. Thus unemployment compensation may play an important role in ameliorating the impact of unemployment on depression. By contrast, means-tested benefits may not be sufficient to reduce the risk for reporting depression and suffering ill-health in comparison with the full-time employed. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of social policy development.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
GardnerJ. M.Recession swells count of displaced workers. Monthly Labor Rev.118(4): 45–57, April 1995.
2.
BartleyM.Unemployment and ill health: Understanding the relationship. J. Epidemiol. Community Health48: 333–337, 1994.
3.
JahodaM.LazarsfieldP. F., and ZeislH.Marienthal: The Sociography of an Unemployed Community. Tavistock, London, 1972.
FaginL., and LittleM.The Forsaken Families. Penguin Books, London, 1984.
6.
JahodaM.Employment and Unemployment: A Social-Psychological Analysis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 1982.
7.
BrennerM. H.Economic instability, unemployment rates, behavioral risks, and mortality in Scotland 1952–83. Int. J. Health Serv.17(3): 475–487, 1987.
8.
CatalanoR.Health effects of economic insecurity. Am. J. Public Health81(9): 1148–1151, 1991.
9.
CatalanoR.DooleyD., and JacksonR.Economic predictors of admissions to mental health facilities in a nonmetropolitan community. J. Health Soc. Behav. 22: 284–297, 1981.
10.
EyerJ.Does unemployment cause the death rate peak in each business cycle? A multifactor model of death rate change. Int. J. Health Serv.7(4): 625–663, 1977.
11.
SmithR.Bitterness, shame, emptiness, waste: An introduction to unemployment and health. BMJ291: 1024–1027, 1985.
12.
MorrisJ. N., and TitmusR. M.Health and social change: Recent history of rheumatic disease. Medical Officer72: 69, 77, 85, 1944.
13.
BrennerM. H.Health cost and benefits of economic policy. Int. J. Health Serv.7(4): 581–623, 1977.
14.
MoserK. A.FoxA. J., and JonesD. R.Unemployment and mortality in the OPCS longitudinal study. Lancet2: 1324–1329, 1984.
15.
PlattS.Suicide and unemployment in Italy: Description, analysis and interpretation of recent trends. Soc. Sci. Med.34(11): 1191–1201, 1992.
16.
CobbS., and KaslS. V.Termination: The Consequences of Job Loss. U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare, Cincinnati, 1977.
17.
DonovanA., and OddyM.Psychological aspects of unemployment: An investigation into the emotional and social adjustment of school leavers. J. Adolesc. 5: 15–30, 1982.
18.
WarrP. B.Reported behavior changes after job loss. Br. J. Soc. Psychol. 23: 271–275, 1984.
19.
HallE. M., and JohnsonJ. V.Depression in unemployed Swedish women. J. Soc. Sci. Med.27(12): 1349–1355, 1988.
20.
WinefieldA. H.Growing Up with Unemployment: A Longitudinal Study of its Psychological Impact. Routledge, New York, 1993.
21.
CatalanoR.Job loss and alcohol abuse: A test using data from the epidemiologic catchment area project. J. Health Soc. Behav. 34: 215–255, 1993.
22.
YuenP., and BalarajanR.Unemployment and patterns of consultation with the general practitioner. BMJ298(6682): 1212–1214, 1986.
23.
KesslerR.TurnerJ. B., and HouseJ.Effects of unemployment on health in a community survey: Main, modifying, and mediating effects. J. Soc. Issues44(4): 69–85, 1988.
24.
LeanaC. R., and FeldmanD. C.Coping with Job Loss. Lexington Books, New York, 1992.
25.
KodrzyckiY. K.The cost of defense related layoffs in New England. N. Engl. Econ. Rev., March/April 1995, pp. 3–26.
26.
KaslS. V.RodriguezE., and LaschK.The impact of unemployment on health and well-being. In Adversity, Stress, and Psychology, edited by DohrenwendB. P.. American Psychiatric Press, Washington, D.C., 1997, in press.
27.
BillingsA. G., and MoosR. H.Coping, stress, and social resources among adults with unipolar depression. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 46: 877–891, 1984.
28.
LazarusR. S., and FolkmanS.Stress, Appraisal and Coping. Springer, New York, 1984.
29.
CohenS., and SymeS. L. (eds.). Social Support and Health. Academic Press, New York, 1985.
30.
BerkmanL. F., and SymeS. L.Social networks, host resistance, and mortality: A nine year follow-up study of Alameda county residents. Am. J. Epidemiol. 109(2): 186–204, 1979.
31.
DeanA., and LinN.The stress-buffering role of social support. J. Nerv. Ment. Dis.165: 403–417, 1977.
32.
AtkinsonT.LiemR., and LiemJ.The social cost of unemployment: Implications for social support. J. Health Soc. Behav. 27: 317–331, 1986.
33.
SchaeferC.CoyneJ. C., and LazarusR. S.The health-related aspects of social support. J. Behav. Med.4: 381–406, 1981.
34.
CoyneJ. C., and DeLongisA.Going beyond social support: The role of social relationships in adaptation. J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 54: 454–460, 1986.
35.
RossC. E., and MirowskyJ.Child and emotional adjustment to wives employment. J. Health Soc. Behav. 29: 127–138, 1988.
36.
HouseJ. S.LandisK. R., and UmbersonD.Social relationships and health. Science241: 540–545, 1988.
37.
BrownG. W., and HarrisT.Social Origins of Depression: A Study of Psychiatric Disorder in Women. Free Press, New York, 1978.
38.
WarrP.Work, Unemployment and Mental Health. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1987.
39.
DeanK.HoistE., and KreinerS.Measurement issues in research on social support and health. J. Epidemiol. Community Health48: 201–206, 1994.
40.
GoreS.The effect of social support in moderating the health consequences of unemployment. J. Health Soc. Behav. 9(2): 157–165, 1978.
41.
HouseJ.Unemployment, Social Support and Health, Social Support, Health and Disease. Sixth International Berzelius Symposium. Almquist & Wiksell International, Stockholm, 1986.
42.
DooleyD.Economic, life, and symptom changes in a nonmetropolitan community. J. Health Soc. Behav. 22: 144–154, 1981.
43.
BoltonW., and OatleyK.A longitudinal study of social support and depression in unemployed men. Psychol. Med.17: 453–460, 1987.
44.
UllahP.BanksM., and WarrP.Social support, social pressures and psychological distress during unemployment. Psychol. Med.15: 283–295, 1985.
45.
WinkelmanL., and WinkelmanR.Happiness and unemployment: A panel data analysis for Germany. Konjunkturpolitik41(4): 293–307, 1995.
46.
RodriguezE.The Impact of Unemployment on Health: Personal and Sociological Consequences of Unemployment in Barcelona. Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 1991.
47.
RodriguezE.Health consequences of unemployment in Barcelona. Eur. J. Public Health4: 245–251, 1994.
48.
EisenbergP., and LazarsfieldP. F.The psychological effects of unemployment. Psychol. Bull.35: 358–390, 1983.
49.
BlankR., and CardD.Recent trends in insured and uninsured unemployment: Is there an explanation?Q. J. Econ.106(4): 1157–1189, 1991.
50.
NavarroV., and BermanD. M.Health and Work under Capitalism: An International Perspective. Baywood, Amityville, N.Y., 1981.
51.
CutronaC., and RussellD.Type of social support and specific stress: Toward a theory of optimal matching. In Social Support and Interactional View, edited by SarasonB.SarasonI., and PierceG.. Wiley, New York, 1990.
52.
RossC. E., and MirowskyJ.Socially desirable response and acquiescence in a cross-cultural survey of mental health. J. Health Soc. Behav. 25(2): 189–197, 1984.
53.
The National Survey of Families and Households Codebook. Center for Demography and Ecology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1989.
54.
KriegerN.Epidemiology and the web of causation: Has anyone seen the spider?Soc. Sci. Med.39(7): 887–903, 1994.
55.
NavarroV.Race or class versus race and class: Mortality differentials in the United States. Lancet336: 1238–1240, 1990.
56.
WilliamsD. R., and CollinsC. H. U. S.Socioeconomic and racial differences in health: Patterns and explanations. Annu. Rev. Sociol. 21: 349–389, 1995.
57.
WilliamsD. R.Lavizzo-MoureyR., and WarrenR. C.The concept of race and health status in America. Public Health Rep.109: 26–41, 1994.
58.
AseltineR. H., and KesslerR. C.Marital disruption and depression in a community sample. J. Health Soc. Behav. 34: 237–251, 1993.
59.
RodriguezE.The Role of Ethnicity and Support in Shaping the Health Impact of Unemployment Among Women. Paper presented at the International Congress on Women, Work and Health, Barcelona, April 17–20, 1996.
