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Financial Stress Linked to Poor Health
Oct. 8, 2002 -- The stress associated with losing your job can adversely affect your frame of mind for several years -- even once you've become re-employed. It's easy to fall into a funk following layoffs, but what you should keep in mind is that it's more important to take care of yourself during trying times and seek professionals who can help.
Researchers found that the financial strain of unemployment can spiral downward into a sequence of depression, loss of personal control, decreased emotional functioning, and poor physical health. As a result, it then becomes harder to find another job. They also found that the impact can last more than two years
Unemployment can have long-term effects on a person's physical health and emotional well-being, says lead researcher Richard H. Price, PhD, and colleagues from the University of Michigan, in a news release.
The study revealed a strong link between the financial stress of a job loss and increased depression followed by poor health and the inability to function in regular daily activities.
Service providers who work with suddenly unemployed individuals, says Price, need to recognize this chain of events, interrupt it, and work to improve mental health so as to better the chances of re-employment.
The authors of the study interviewed 756 recently unemployed job seekers and asked them to rate how they felt emotionally and physically as a result of their job loss. When questioned again two years later, even though most were re-employed, 71% responded that they still felt the negative effects of their previous job loss.
While women experienced more symptoms of depression, gender played only a minor role in determining the severity of the effects.
The study is reported in the October issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.
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