Abstract
Studies that have found an association between unemployment and psychological depression often fail to establish the direction of causal influence. Analyses of Epidemiologic Catchment Area panel data revealed that of employed respondents not diagnosed with major depression at first interview, those who became unemployed had over twice the risk of increased depressive symptoms and of becoming clinically depressed as those who continued employed. Although the increase in symptoms was statistically significant, the effect on clinical depression was not, possibly because of the low power of the test. The reverse causal path from clinical depression at Time 1 to becoming unemployed by Time 2 was not supported. The unemployment rate in the respondent's community at time of interview was not related directly to psychological depression but appeared associated indirectly with depression via its impact on the risk of becoming unemployed. Implications for policy and further research were discussed.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (1987).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3 ed. rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4 ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Aneshensel, C. S., & Frerichs, R. R. (1982). Stress, support, and depression: A longitudinal causal model.Journal of Community Psychology, 10, 363–376.
Aneshensel, C. S., Rutter, C. M., & Lachenbruch, P. A. (1991). Social structure, stress, and mental health: Competing conceptual and analytic models.American Sociological Review, 56, 166–178.
Billings, A. C., & Moos, R. H. (1982). Stressful life events and symptoms: A longitudinal model.Health Psychology, 1, 99–117.
Bolton, W., & Oatley, K. (1987). A longitudinal study of social support and depression in unemployed men.Psychological Medicine, 17, 453–460.
Brady, E. U., & Kendall, P. C. (1992). Comorbidity of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents.Psychological Bulletin, 111, 244–255.
Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. (1978).Social origins of depression: a study of psychiatric disorder in women. New York: Free Press.
Brown, R. L. (1982).Mental health and the economy: A disaggregated analysis. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan.
Catalano, R., Dooley, D., Wilson, G., & Hough, R. (1993). Job loss and alcohol abuse: A test using data from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area project.Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 34, 215–225.
Clark, L. A., & Watson, D. (1991). Tripartite model of anxiety and depression: psychometric evidence and taxonomic implications.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 316–336.
Cohen, J. (1977).Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. New York: Academic Press.
Cohn, R. M. (1978). The effect of employment status change on self attitudes.Social Psychology, 41, 81–93.
Dohrenwend, B. S. (1978). Social stress and community psychology.American Journal of Community Psychology, 6, 1–14.
Dooley, D., & Catalano, R. (1986). Do economic variables generate psychological problems? Different methods, different answers. In A. J. MacFadyen & H. W. MacFadyen (Eds.),Economic psychology: Intersections in theory and application (pp. 503–546). Amsterdam: North Holland.
Dooley, D., Catalano, R., & Hough, R. (1992). Unemployment and alcohol disorder in 1910 and 1990: Drift versus social causation.Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 65, 277–290.
Dooley, D., Catalano, R., & Rook, K. S. (1988). Personal and aggregate unemployment and psychological symptoms.Journal of Social Issues, 44 107–123.
Dressler, W. W. (1986). Unemployment and depressive symptoms in a southern black community.Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 174, 639–645.
Eales, M. J. (1988). Depression and anxiety in unemployed men.Psychological Medicine, 18, 935–945.
Eaton, W. W., & Kessler, L. G. (Ed.). (1985).Epidemiologic field methods in psychiatry: The NIMH Epidemiologic Catchment Area program. New York: Academic Press.
Ensel, W. M., & Lin, N. (1991). The life stress paradigm and psychological distress.Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 32, 321–341.
Hall, E. M., & Johnson, J. V. (1988). Depression in unemployed Swedish women.Social Science and Medicine, 27, 1349–1355.
Hamilton, V. L., Hoffman, W. S., Broman, C. L., & Rauma, D. (1993). Unemployment, distress, and coping: A panel study of autoworkers.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 234–247.
Hansen, G. B.. (1988). Layoffs, plant closings, and worker displacement in America: Serious problems that need a national solution.Journal of Social Issues, 44, 153–171.
Hanushek, E. A., & Jackson, J. E. (1977).Statistical methods for social scientists. New York: Academic Press.
Hosmer, D. W., Jr., & Lemeshow, S. (1989).Applied logistic regression. New York: Wiley.
Jahoda, M., Lazarsfeld, P. F., & Zeisel, H. (1971)Marienthal: The sociography of an unemployed community (M. J. Jahoda, P. F. Lazarsfeld, H. Zeisel, J. Reginall, & T. Elaesser, Trans.). Chicago: Aldine. (Original work published in 1933).
Kessler, L. G., Folsom, R., Royall, R., Forsythe, A., McEvoy, L., Holzer, C. E., III, Rae, D., & Woodbury, M. (1985). Parameter and variance estimation. In W. E. Eaton & L. G. Kessler (Eds.),Epidemiologic field methods in psychiatry: The NIMH Epidemiologic Catchment Area program (pp. 327–349). New York: Academic Press.
Kessler, R. C., & Greenberg, D. F. (1981).Linear panel analysis: Models of quantitative change. New York: Academic Press.
Kessler, R. C., Turner, J. B., & House, J. S. (1988). Effects of unemployment on health in a community survey: Main, modifying, and mediating effects.Journal of Social Issues, 44, 69–85.
Kessler, R. C., Turner, J. B., & House, J. S. (1989). Unemployment, reemployment, and emotional functioning in a community sample.American Sociological Review, 54, 648–657.
Korn, E. L., & Graubard, B. I. (1991). Epidemiologic studies utilizing surveys: Accounting for the sampling design.American Journal of Public Health, 81, 1166–1173.
Lin, N., & Ensel, W. M. (1984). Depression-mobility and its social etiology: The role of life events and social support.Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 25, 176–188.
Lloyd, C. (1980). Life events and depressive disorder reviewed.Archives of General Psychiatry, 37, 541–548.
Melville, D. I., Hope, D., Bennison, D., & Barraclough, B. (1985). Depression among men made involuntarily redundant.Psychological Medicine, 15, 789–793.
Monroe, S. M., & Simons, A. D. (1991). Diathesis-stress theories in the context of life stress research: Implications for the depressive disorders.Psychological Bulletin, 100, 406–425.
Robins, L. N. & Regier, D. A. (Eds.). (1991).Psychiatric disorders in America: The Epidemiologic Catchment Area study. New York: Free Press.
Rook, K., Dooley, D., & Catalano, R. (1991). Stress transmission: The effects of husband's job stressors on the emotional health of their wives.Journal of Marriage and Family, 53, 165–177.
Roy, A. (1987). Five risk factors for depression.British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 536–541.
Rowntree, B. S., & Lasker, B. (1911).Unemployment: A social study. London: Macmillan.
Shah, B. V. (1982).Standard errors of regression coefficients from sample survey data. Research Triangle Park, NC: Research Triangle Institute.
Shamir, B. (1986). Self-esteem and the psychological impact of unemployment.Social Psychology Quarterly, 49, 61–72.
Solomon, S. D., Smith, E. M., Robins, L. N., & Fischbach, R. L. (1987). Social involvement as a mediator of disaster-induced stress.Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 17, 1092–1112.
Turner, R. J., & Noh, S. (1988). Physical disability and depression: A longitudinal analysis.Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 29, 23–37.
Vinokur, A. D., Price, R. H., & Caplan, R. D. (1991). From field experiments to program implementation: Assessing the potential outcomes of an experimental intervention program for unemployed persons.American Journal of Community Psychology, 19, 543–562.
Warr, P. (1987).Work, unemployment, and mental health, Oxford, U.K.: Clarendon.
Weissman, M. M., Bruce, M. L., Leaf, P. J., Florio, L. P., & Holzer, C., III. (1991). Affective disorders. In L. N. Robins & D. A. Regier (Eds.),Psychiatric disorders in America: The Epidemiologic Catchment Area study (pp. 53–80). New York: Free Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The research described in this paper was supported by Grant #5 RO1 AA08379-02 from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The authors appreciate the suggestions provided by members of the Consortium for Research Involving Stress Processes sponsored by the W. T. Grant Foundation and by two anonymous journal reviewers.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dooley, D., Catalano, R. & Wilson, G. Depression and unemployment: Panel findings from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area study. Am J Commun Psychol 22, 745–765 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02521557
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02521557