Financial Hardship and Shame: A Tentative Model to Understand the Social and Health Effects of Unemployment

Correspondence to Ulla Rantakeisu, Centre for Public Health Research, University of Karlstad, S-651 88 Karlstad, Sweden. E-mail: ulla_rantakeisu{at}kau.se Summary Young unemployed people in six local communities in Sweden wereinterviewed to test the assumption that variations in the socialand health effects of unemployment could be seen as a functionof financial hardship and of experiences of shame. The resultsindicate that there seems to be a link between the health andsocial effects of unemployment, on the one hand, and the degreeof financial hardship and the number of shaming experienceson the other. The group of unemployed people who suffered agreater degree of financial hardship and also experienced agreater number of shaming experiences seemed to exhibit thepoorest health, reported deteriorated health to a greater degreethan other groups, experienced negative changes in their lifestyle,did less in their free time, and had lower self-confidence thanother unemployed persons. The opposite applied for those whoexperienced less financial hardship and less pressure in termsof experiences of shaming. Against this background, we haveformulated a theoretical model based on financial circumstancesand social bonds; a model that could have a wider value in explainingsocial and health problems.     

Unemployment, shame and ill health — an exploratory study

Unemployed young people in six Swedish municipalities were studied in respect of the degree of shaming elements experienced by them in their social environment and in respect of mental ill health. The nature of the investigation was exploratory. The study shows that experience of shaming elements in the environment owing to unemployment is relatively frequent. A larger proportion of the long-term unemployed and men account for more shaming elements than do the short-term unemployed and women. It seems as if the factor of shaming elements in the environment is important in order to understand the adverse health-related consequences of unemployment. A greater proportion of those who live in a more shaming environment show mental disorders, deteriorated health, changes in living habits, activities and social relations, than do those living in a less shaming environment. This report discusses possible explanations of the results in the light of existing moral concepts of work and unemployment, as well as of shaming attitudes towards the unemployed.     

Financial hardship during unemployment in Norway: the impact of public and private income support

It is common to assume that long-term unemployment no longer causes financial hardship because of generous welfare benefits. It is further assumed that unemployment benefits have eroded the traditional role of the family in protecting its members against hazards. This panel study of long-term unemployed people in 1991-1992 demonstrates the inadequacy of unemployment benefits and the importance of family support in reducing the risk of financial hardship. Vulnerable household types, such as single people and families with limited economic resources, at the outset seem unable to bear the personal risk of unemployment that is built into the benefit scheme. Persons disadvantaged at the outset risk a downward spiral because of long-term unemployment. Especially during times of high unemployment, the compensation level is not optimal from a welfare point of view. Greater coverage and more generous unemployment benefits may help unemployed people to cope better financially and thus avoid applying for discretionary and highly stigmatized social assistance allowance.     

Personal financial situation during unemployment and mental health

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the personal financial situation during unemployment and the connection between financial situation and mental health in a sample ( n =213) of unemployed Norwegians. The results indicate that the unemployed suffered high financial deprivation compared with their own subjective standards, their situation when working, their neighbors and friends, and the average population. However, the unemployed did not constitute a homogeneous group in financial terms. In particular, the young unemployed experienced substantial financial problems. Among men, the reduction in income, few leisure facilities and many financial adjustments were closely related to mental health problems. Women who experienced that their income was substantially reduced compared with that of neighbors and friends and women who had carried out many financial adjustments were in poorer mental health than the other women in the sample. The findings are discussed in relation to relevant aspects of the life situation of the unemployed and other research results.     

Attitudes towards the unemployed. An analysis of Swedish survey data

To be unemployed is often associated with being stigmatised by others. People may blame the unemployed themselves, insist that they could find a job if they tried harder, maintain that too little is demanded from recipients of unemployment benefits and consider differences in standard of living between the unemployed and the employed too small. This article is aimed at studying the prevalence of such negative attitudes and to examine the determinants behind them. In May 2000, questions were added on to a randomly selected subsample in the regular Swedish labour force survey. The results indicate that own unemployment experience and perceived risks of becoming unemployed make people less apt to blame the unemployed. Having family members or close friends with unemployment experience tends to have a similar impact. In contrast, young people more often express stigmatising attitudes. With respect to social class position the results are divided.     

Coping with long–term unemployment: economic security, labour market integration and well–being. Results from a Danish panel study, 1994–1999

On the basis of a Danish panel study of the long–term unemployed 1994–1999, the article challenges core premises underlying labour market reforms, assigning too high a priority to work and work incentives, and too little priority to social protection. Economic hardship has become widespread among long–term unemployed even in Denmark, and this is a more serious threat against well–being than unemployment as such. Generous social security, denounced as 'passive support', enables the unemployed to cope with their situation, and there are no signs of any 'dependency culture'. Incentives in terms of economic hardship may stimulate active job seeking but the panel study reveals that it has no positive effect on subsequent labour market integration.     

AUSTRALIAN ATTITUDES TO UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE

Social security policy towards unemployed people in Australia has become increasingly conditional on their demonstrating ever greater job search effort. The evidence from attitudinal survey data on whether this policy shift accords with public opinion is ambiguous. Although, by international standards, Australians take a relatively hard line on the responsibilities of unemployed people lo actively seek work, there is little information about views on the detail of activity testing. While a majority oppose greater public expenditure on unemployment, they still see an important role, for government in addressing unemployment and supporting unemployed people.     

Unemployment and psychological distress among young adults in the Nordic countries: A review of the literature

This article reviews Nordic research, published from 1995 and onwards, on the relationship between unemployment and mental health among young adults. Cross‐sectional, longitudinal and time‐series studies are included. Cross‐sectional studies show that the unemployed experience more mental health problems than the non‐unemployed. Leaving unemployment is associated with increased well‐being. Economic problems, feelings of shame and poor social support increase the likelihood of psychological distress. The longitudinal studies show that unemployment increases the risk of psychological distress and attempted suicide, after initial mental health status and confounding factors are accounted for. The relationship remains significant when time‐invariant characteristics of the individuals are controlled for. The time‐series studies found no relationship between unemployment and suicide, but levels of psychological distress were found to vary with changes in the labour market. This relationship remained significant after excluding the non‐employed, indicating that unemployment trends have effects beyond those directly associated with unemployment.     

The perceived fair duration of unemployment benefits for older workers. The role of lifetime achievements in the labour market

The welfare state regulates social policies and reallocates scarce resources. For the social legitimacy of the welfare state, it is important that the public supports the principles underlying this reallocation. This article examines the impact of different activities during the life course on public deservingness perceptions of older unemployed people. In a factorial survey experiment conducted among a random sample of individuals drawn from German administrative employment records, we examine the maximum duration of benefit receipt which is perceived as fair for older unemployed persons with different biographies. The results indicate strong public support for a nexus between previous contributions and benefit entitlements. Besides financial contributions to unemployment insurance, parenting and further training are considered to be ‘lifetime achievements’ which justify longer unemployment benefit receipt. We interpret these findings as an expression of a generalised form of reciprocity which guides perceptions of deservingness regarding older unemployed persons.     

Effects of Unemployment on Health in a Community Survey: Main, Modifying, and Mediating Effects

Results from a community survey in a sample of high-unemployment census tracts in southeastern Michigan showed significant elevations of depression, anxiety, somatization, and self-reported physical illness among the currently unemployed. These adverse effects were largely reversed by reemployment. Subsequent analyses documented modifying effects of social support, self-concept, and coping. We also found two mediating processes that account for the overall effects of current unemployment: (a) the intervening effects of financial strain, and (b) an influence of unemployment in creating heightened vulnerability to other stressful life events. The implications of these results for the design and implementation of preventive interventions are briefly discussed.     

Self‐assessed consequences of unemployment on individual wellbeing and family relationships: A study of unemployed women and men in Finland

Weckström S. Self‐assessed consequences of unemployment on individual wellbeing and family relationships: a study of unemployed women and men in Finland The present study investigated how family situation and gender affect the experience of unemployment. The sample consisted of 494 Finnish women and 387 Finnish men who had been registered as unemployed for at least 3 months. The main method used in the study was analysis of covariance. Women assessed the consequences of unemployment on their individual wellbeing and on the parent–child relationship less negatively than men, but there was no corresponding gender difference concerning spousal relationship. Lone mothers experienced the change in individual wellbeing slightly more negatively than women in other family situations; this difference was in part related to financial strain. Financial strain and non‐financial work motivation predicted negative changes in individual wellbeing and in spousal relationship for both genders. Parent–child relationships were, however, independent from these variables. The way family relationships were affected was connected to changes in individual wellbeing.     

The 'Dole or Drudgery' Dilemma: Education, the Work Ethic and Unemployment

Before the recession, Labour ministers claimed that much unemployment in the UK was voluntary. While social policy authors have repeatedly countered such claims by stressing that unemployed people generally possess a strong work ethic and employment commitment, their accounts typically neglect the role that choosiness in job search behaviour plays in deciding individuals' employment status. Fifty in‐depth interviews with both unemployed and employed respondents exposed considerable diversity in attitudes towards ‘dole’ (being unemployed and claiming unemployment benefits) and ‘drudgery’ (doing less attractive jobs). The more educated were more likely to prefer ‘dole’ to ‘drudgery’ (this was also found using National Child Development Study survey data), yet they usually found jobs despite their greater choosiness. Those with very low educational attainment often desperately wanted jobs but could not find them due to their low employability – which might offer an explanation for the often replicated (yet paradoxical) finding that unemployed people generally exhibit a strong work ethic and pro‐employment attitudes and behaviours. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the scope for many Jobseeker's Allowance claimants to increase their net income by undertaking an unattractive job is greater than social policy authors often imply. The question of ‘who must do the least attractive jobs?’ has been neglected by both social policy academics and policy‐makers.     

Equal opportunities,true options or hidden unemployment? A comparative perspective on labour‐market marginality

Previous studies have shown that women generally adjust to unemployment better than men. This study shows that young women value work equally as highly as men, and have negative feelings when unemployed, which indicates the existence of a closed gender gap. However, children have a different influence on men's and women's unemployment experiences. Being a parent increases job-search activity and work involvement among men. On the other hand, children moderate negative experiences of unemployment among women, and they decrease their job-search activity and work involvement. Being a parent increases labour-market marginality among young unemployed women. For young men it is a motivational factor for searching for and getting a job. The comparison shows furthermore that patterns of re-employment vary in the involved countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Scotland. They reflect differences in the overall unemployment situation in the countries and the welfare strategies applied.     

Association Between Unemployment Duration and Depression in the SouthWest Region of Turkey: A Cross-Sectional Study

ABSTRACT

Unemployment has risen as an effect of globalization in the country of Turkey. To date, no studies have examined the association between the duration of unemployment and perceived mental health. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the association between the duration of unemployment and the incidenence of depression among citizens in the southwest region of Turkey. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 908 unemployed individuals. The questionnaire gathered sociodemographic characteristics and employment-related circumstances. To measure mental health, a depression inventory was administered and group-wise t-tests and logistic regressions were conducted. The findings show that long-term unemployed persons had more episodes of depressive moods in the past 12 months when compared with the group of the short-term unemployed. In addition, depression levels were higher among the long-term unemployed compared with the short-term unemployed. It was estimated that the duration of unemployment and the measurement of depression had a positive correlation. Risk factors that increased depression in the short-term unemployed were gender (female), older age, and greater periods of unemployment. However, higher education, income, and having social insurance significantly decreased the risk of developing depression for both the short-term and the long-term unemployed. Future recommendations include supportive counseling to increase motivation levels and developing strategies to handle periods of unemployment.     

Unemployment and mental health among white‐collar workers – a question of work involvement and financial situation?

We examine whether it is a psychosocial or an economic need for employment that affects mental health among the unemployed. The relevance of both aspects are examined, concentrating on two measures of each dimension. Two perspectives of work involvement – the degree of connection to working life and the perceived employment commitment – and two perspectives on financial situation – economic security and perceived economic concern – have been analysed, using empirical data collected by means of a cross-sectional survey of 1297 unemployed white-collar workers from the public sector in Sweden. The degree of connection to working life was not significantly linked to the mental health of the unemployed, although there was a strong link between the perceived employment commitment and mental health among this group. The stronger the perceived employment commitment, the poorer the state of the person's mental health. Perceived economic concern was also tightly linked to mental health: the greater the economic concern, the poorer the mental health. Economic security also played – at least, partly – a moderate but significant role. The results provide strong support for the existence of both a psychosocial need and an economic need for employment. The analysis demonstrates that it is the perceived assessed measures of work involvement and financial situation that are linked to mental health.     

Keep out of the reach of children: parental unemployment and children's accident risks in Sweden 1991–1993

In the early 1990s, unemployment levels increased dramatically in Sweden. Although the effects of unemployment on unemployed individuals are well-documented, research on parental unemployment and children has been neglected. The aim of the present study is to explore the relationship between parental unemployment and children's accident risks in Sweden for the period 1991–1993. Two independent samples are used: the Swedish Level of Living Survey 1991 (original sample 6,733 individuals) and the Swedish Longitudinal Study among Unemployed 1992–1993 (original sample 792). The samples were taken during periods of both low and high unemployment. The results indicate that parental unemployment is associated with increased accident risks among children in 1991, 1992 and 1993. The increased risks do not seem to be due to the effects of adverse selection into unemployment on parental well-being, financial difficulties or alcohol consumption. It is also suggested that low parental well-being is of causal significance within the unemployed group.     

Complexities in Assessing Unemployment Benefits and Policies

Employed workers cannot access unemployment insurance as a matter of choice. Benefit periods and benefit amounts vary between groups in the population. Unemployment benefit recipients have not only rights to benefits but also obligations to meet in order to maintain eligibility. The existence of functional equivalent benefit schemes contributes to benefit transition and substitution. All these aspects are of crucial importance both for the economic well-being of families with unemployed members and for policymaking. This article illustrates some of these complex institutional aspects through an analysis of benefits for unemployment in a number of northern European countries in 1996 and by reference to recent Danish experiences.     

Unemployment as Illness: An Exploration of Accounts Voiced by the Unemployed in Aotearoa/New Zealand

In Aotearoa/New Zealand unemployment is a continuing social concern that has been linked to a range of negative consequences, including various psychological and physical ailments. Whereas findings linking unemployment to such conse-quences are highly prevalent, few studies have explored people's experiences of unemployment. This article presents an analysis of 26 semistructured individual interviews with unemployed people in order to explore the social construction of unemployment. It is argued that the meaning of unemployment is in many respects analogous to what previous research on lay health beliefs has found regarding the meaning of illness. Prominent themes from literature on the meaning of illness are used to inform an analysis of the meaning of unemployment. The implications of constructing unemployment as an illness are explored in relation to the assignment of cause and responsibility and to the ways the unemployed are socially positioned. Tactics used by participants to preserve a sense of moral worth in response to the stigma of unemployment provide a key focal point for this article.     

Financial Incentives and Job‐search Training: Methods to Increase Labour Market Integration in Contemporary Welfare States?

In their efforts to increase labour market integration, contemporary welfare states emphasize the importance of financial incentives, active job‐searching and participation in labour market programmes. However, the effects of these policies have been minor and in some cases even inconsistent. The aim of this study was to examine whether and how financial incentives and job‐search training programmes increase re‐employment and the quality of re‐employment. A total of 1,015 unemployed persons participated in a Finnish follow‐up study with a randomized experimental design. Although no overall impact of job‐search training on re‐employment emerged, a positive effect was found for those groups of the unemployed who had a financial incentive to participate in the programme. Nevertheless, among unemployed workers with benefits at a minimum level there were no positive effects on the quality of re‐employment, and the impact decreased when unemployment was prolonged. Financial incentives and job‐search training appear to increase re‐employment among those of the unemployed who generally have better chances on the labour market, whereas these measures are not sufficient for the more disadvantaged groups of the unemployed.