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Unemployment and psychological ill-health: the moderating role of duration and age

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Paul R. Jackson  and
Peter B. Warr
Paul R. Jackson*
Affiliation:
MRC/ESRC Social and Applied Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield
Peter B. Warr
Affiliation:
MRC/ESRC Social and Applied Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Paul R. Jackson, MRC/ESRC Social and Applied Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, The University, Sheffield, S10 2TN.
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Synopsis

The relationship between length of unemployment and psychological ill-health was examined in a sample of 954 unemployed working-class men, selected to cover all levels of age and several levels of duration of unemployment. The association between length of unemployment and psychological ill-health was found to be strongest in the middle age groups, with greater ill-health among those with a longer duration since job loss. No association between duration and ill-health was found for those who had recently entered the labour market or who were close to the end of their working lives. Desire for a job and financial stress were shown to be additional mediators of psychological ill-health during employment. A cumulative stress model is proposed to account for these findings.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 14 , Issue 3 , August 1984 , pp. 605 - 614
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

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