The Samaritans have done research on the link between unemployment/underemployment in middle-aged men in the UK that cites the psychosocial effects of job loss. See http://www.samaritans.org/news/man-suicide-middle-age and http://www.samaritans.org/media-centre/our-campaigns/were-your-corner/were-your-corner-research.

Moyano-Díaz, E., Gutiérrez, D. P., Zúñiga K. C., & Cornejo, F. A. (2013). Empleados y desempleados, atribuciones...Psicologia & Sociedade, 25(2), 440-450.

441

May be this article can be to help you

My students and I looked for a link between unemployment rates and suicide rates in the US over the last 40 years and found almost nothing, using data from the CDC and the Bureau of Labor Statistics -- in other words, when a state's unemployment rate went up, its suicide rate didn't seem to move. Perhaps these statistics are at too high a level to capture the link, though, if there really is one.

Ryan, I concur with observation about the statistics. The 8/13 unemployment rates by state (http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm) seem to support your research. Though two western states (Nevada, Arizona) that are often among the states with the highest suicide rates also had high unemployment rate that month, states with typically low suicide rates (NJ, CT, RI, NY) were also among the top twenty states with high unemployment rates. Maybe the group most at risk is not: "The percentage of the total labor force that is unemployed but actively seeking employment and willing to work." Rather it is the segment of the unemployed who have given up and who have acquired serious risk factors like low self-esteem, beliefs that they have let others down, that they are a burden, that those they care about would be better off if they were gone, etc. That is the population that bears the most stigma of unemployment and experience the other byproducts of financial insecurity. Are there state-by-state stats of such workforce dropouts?

Hi Marcelo,

In a postvention pilot study we found that recent loss of employment was a key trigger for a suicide attempt:

Joubert, L., Petrakis, M., & Cementon, E. (2012). Suicide attempt presentations at the emergency department: Outcomes from a pilot study examining precipitating factors in deliberate self-harm and issues in primary care physician management. Social work in health care, 51(1), 66-76.

In a suicide prevention intervention study subjective ratings using a standardised QoL measure (MANSA) noted a significant correlation between level of dissatisfaction in the life domain of work and severity of depression ratings (BDI-II) at 3 months.

We looked at MINI correlations also; the significant correlations were for (in descending order): leisure, health, social life, family relationships, personal safety and living situation. Correlations were not significant with the MINI for satisfaction with work or finances.

From this we concluded that reduced suicidal thought was associated with being less depressed, and improvements in depression were driven by improvements in physical health and relationships (with friends, partners and family).

[We saw changes in moving from unemployment to being employed by 6 months for a number of clients, but the big reduction in suicide risk had already happened 3 or 4 months prior when stress from conflict in intimate relationships was reduced or better health care access was achieved.]

Petrakis, M., & Joubert, L. (2013). A Social Work Contribution to Suicide Prevention Through Assertive Brief Psychotherapy and Community Linkage: Use of the Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life (MANSA). Social work in health care, 52(2-3), 239-257.

Hope this is useful.

Thanks Melissa, this is very useful.

There are many articles in the field of economics exploring the relationshıp between unemployment and suicide. You can also check Bijou Yang, and the paper by Yong Noh in the Journal of Economic Psychology

Antonio

Thanks Antonio Andres, I'll see that.

Hello Marcelo,

In this two papers you have some information about it. I you need it, I could send you a few more about the psychologiucal effects of unemployment in general. I am researching in something similar.

Stuckler, D., Basu, S., Suhrcke, M., Coutts, A., y McKee, M. (2009). The public health effect of economic crises and alternative policy responses in Europe: an empirical analysis. The Lancet, 374(9686), 315-323.

Stuckler, D., Basu, S., Suhrcke, M., Coutts, A., y McKee, M. (2011). Effects of the 2008 recession on health: a first look at European data. The Lancet, 378(9786), 124-125.

María.

Some information about Suicide:

- Kapuvári, V. (2011). Psychological Effects of Economic Recession and Unemployment. European Journal of Mental Health, 6(1), 83–93.

- Daly, M., & Delaney, L. (2013). The scarring effect of unemployment throughout adulthood on psychological distress at age 50: estimates controlling for early adulthood distress and childhood psychological factors. Social Science & Medicine, 80, 19–23.

- Reneflot, A., & Evensen, M. (2014). Unemployment and psychological distress among young adults in the Nordic countries: A review of the literature. International Journal of Social Welfare, 23(1), 3–15.

- Korzeniewska, M. (1995). Health effects of unemployment. Medycyna Pracy, 46(4), 407–14.

- Source, H. (1994). Does unemployment cause illness ? A review of the status of knowledge of the correlation between unemployment , physical and psychological health risks. Fortschritte Der Neurologie Psychiatrie, 56(10), 1994–1996.

- Ezzy, D. (1993). UNEMPLOYMENT AND MENTAL HEALTH : A critical review. Social Science & Medicine, 37(1), 41–52.

Reviews and meta-analysis about psychological effects:

- McKee-Ryan, F., Wanberg, C. R., & Kinicki, A. J. (2005). Psychological and physical well-being during unemployment: a meta-analytic study. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(1), 53–76.

- Paul, K. I., & Moser, K. (2009). Unemployment impairs mental health: Meta-analyses. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 74(3), 264–282.

- Source, H. (1994). Does unemployment cause illness ? A review of the status of knowledge of the correlation between unemployment , physical and psychological health risks. Fortschritte Der Neurologie Psychiatrie, 56(10), 1994–1996.

Hi Maria,

I agree this papers will be very important for my research. Thak you.

Marcelo

I have a film going into production on a once successful salesperson who loses his job, can't find another, is about to lose his house and all he holds dear, leading him to hold a suicide party with the help of friends; if he raises enough he'll live; if not he'll end it all with unexpected results. It's based on the fact that economic suicide is raising due to the loss of jobs and the decline of the middle class due to the growing inequality in America. You can see more details at www.gofundme.com/suicide-party, including a short video on the highlights of the beginning of the film.

Hi Gini,

Thank you very much! That is really important to my researchs. And more, for my teaching class!

Thats a good resource to discuss in the classroom!

Marcelo

Hi Marcelo,

The above references are good. However, I have found the best researcher/author on this topic is Steve Stack. You can find quite a lot by him, and the research is very sound.

Good luck,

Keith

I have also published a paper in Applied Economics on suicide and unemployment. There might other references in Health Economics journal.

Good luck

Antonio

Thank you. I'll seek and read those citations.