Abstract
Background: This study investigated the associations between employment transitions and psychological distress among a cohort of 45 years and older Australians. Methods: This study was based on the 45 and Up Study, a large prospective cohort of participants aged 45 years and older (N = 267,153), followed up over the period 2006–2015. The risk of psychological distress was compared between various employment transitions categories by specifying an ordered logistic regression model adjusting for confounders. Results: Compared to participants who remained employed at baseline and follow-up, higher psychological distress was found among those who transitioned from being employed to unemployed (OR = 2.68, 95%CI 2.13–3.33) and to not being in the labour force or retired (OR = 2.21, 95%CI 1.85–2.62). Higher psychological distress was also evident among those who remained unemployed from baseline to follow-up (OR = 2.00, 95%CI 1.10–3.43), and those who transitioned from being retired to being unemployed (OR = 1.55, 95%CI 1.03–2.27). Conversely, lower psychological distress was found among those who transitioned from being unemployed to being employed (OR = 0.35, 95%CI 0.25–0.51). In general, lower psychological distress was found among ‘positive’ employment transitions (transitioning to being employed or retired). Conclusions: Policies focussing on re-employment in older age, as well as unemployment schemes, might be helpful in reducing psychological distress among middle- and old-age Australians.
Highlights
IntroductionPublisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
The study found prior use of mental health services to be associated with higher psychological distress and greater social support to be associated a lower risk of experiencing psychological distress
Previous studies have predominantly focused on employment status and mental health and have found that unemployment is generally associated with worse mental health outcomes compared to employment
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Evidence suggests that employment is associated with mental health benefits including reduced depression and anxiety symptoms, enhanced social support and increased selfesteem [1]. Unemployment has been associated with higher mortality and poorer mental health [2], including suicidal behaviour [3,4]. While there is debate about the direction of the causal link between employment and mental health (does unemployment ‘cause’ poor mental health or vice versa), available evidence generally supports the notion that employed individuals have better mental health compared to the unemployed [5,6]
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