Depression and Unemployment Levels

Facing unemployment levels not seen in three decades, jobless Americans are struggling to develop adequate coping mechanisms against the toll taken on their mental health. Losing a job can trigger devastating effects on self-esteem, damage family and social relationships, and evoke strong feelings of social stigmatization. Growing numbers of studies suggest that the links are worthy of a more strongly coordinated response from a society that ties work and social status.

Size

• Homelessness is only the most visible effect of prolonged unemployment.

  Supporting the link between depression and unemployment goes well beyond anecdotal levels, a Rutgers University survey released in May 2010 indicated. Eight out of 10 people who lost jobs in "The Great Recession" remained unemployed, the survey showed. Anger and despair remained dominant feelings among these respondents, with 90 rating their financial situation as fair to poor and 1 in 10 seeking some kind of professional treatment for depression.

Effects

• Unemployment triggers fights about money.

  Prolonged feelings of hopelessness and despair go hand-in-hand with long-term unemployment, as the Rutgers study found. Only 13 percent of respondents profiled in a previous survey had found jobs. Even then, more than half accepted lower salaries or wages. Two out of three workers voiced a belief that the current climate represented a fundamental change in the American economy--not a temporary shift in their personal fortunes.

Features

• Unemployment can trigger substance abuse problems

  Evidence suggests that long-term unemployment hurts mental health in subtler ways. For one thing, joblessness erodes self-control and self-esteem, two essential linchpins of good mental health, states University of Western Ontario professor William R. Avison, who studied the effects of these trends on 897 married couples in 1995, in an article on the Carmark.com website. Unemployment can seriously damage marriages and friendships. This creates a vicious cycle of increased isolation.

Significance

• Feelings of social stigmatization can increase an unemployed person's depressive feelings that are often similar to the grief and bereavement associated with other life traumas, such as mourning the loss of loved ones or going through a divorce. These feelings are especially pronounced if the situation lasts for a prolonged period. Prejudice remains strongest from the self-employed, young people and those who have not lost a job themselves.

Considerations

• Establishing a link between suicide and economic misfortune seems self-evident, but researchers like Mike Wray of Temple University suggest that reality is more complicated, BusinessWeek.com reports. Western states report higher suicide rates, which are lower in densely populated urban areas, notes Wray. One possible explanation for the disparity is that urban residents are closer to friends, family and social services that can deter negative behaviors like suicide. Either way, the connection remains elusive.