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Unemployment and health

from Psychology, health and illness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2014

By
Stanislav V. Kasl  and
Beth A. Jones
Edited by
Susan Ayers ,
Andrew Baum ,
Chris McManus ,
Stanton Newman ,
Kenneth Wallston ,
John Weinman  and
Robert West
Stanislav V. Kasl
Affiliation:
Yale University School of Medicine
Beth A. Jones
Affiliation:
Yale University School of Medicine
Susan Ayers
Affiliation:
University of Sussex
Andrew Baum
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Chris McManus
Affiliation:
St Mary's Hospital Medical School
Stanton Newman
Affiliation:
University College and Middlesex School of Medicine
Kenneth Wallston
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
John Weinman
Affiliation:
United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas's
Robert West
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, University of London
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Summary

Introduction

In this chapter we intend to provide an assessment of the research literature on unemployment and health. We draw on our somewhat more recent and much more detailed review of this research (Kasl & Jones, 2000), as well as on some key or trendsetting studies that have been published in the last few years.

In orienting the reader to this topic, we begin with a few general observations on recent research trends and themes:

  1. There continues to be a strong and sustained interest in the topic of unemployment and health, both in the USA and, even more so, in Western Europe.

  2. The boundaries of the topic have enlarged, reflecting the impact of changes in the economies of many industrial countries. Specifically, there is a growing interest in the impact of job insecurity, downsizing and involuntary part-time employment (e.g. Ferrie, Shipley et al., 2003; Friedland & Price, 2003; Kivimaki et al., 2003). In fact, the old dichotomy of working vs. unemployed is being replaced by a continuum which includes in-between categories of sub-optimal employment (Grzywacz & Dooley, 2003). This newly complex domain of research has generated its own glossary to help readers understand the concepts being investigated (Bartley & Ferrie, 2000).

  3. […]

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Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine , pp. 232 - 236
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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References

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