Health and meaningfulness of time use for unemployed individuals: associations with involvement in education

Abstract

Unemployed people often experience poor health and frequently report unsatisfying leisure experiences. Previous literature has identified the importance of meaningful activities (such as education) in supporting the overall health of unemployed individuals. This exploratory study investigated the difference in health and access to elements of meaningful time use between two groups of unemployed 18‐ to 25‐year‐olds: those who were involved in educational activities (‘unemployed but in education’) and those who were not (‘unemployed’). Individuals in the ‘unemployed but in education’ group reported better health and more meaningfulness in their time use. For individuals in the ‘unemployed’ group, engaging in activities because ‘there was nothing else to do’ was correlated with poorer psychological health. For females in the ‘unemployed but in education’ group, engagement in personally valued activities was highly correlated with better psychological health. No significant correlations between access to elements of meaningful time use and psychological health were present for males in the ‘unemployed but in education group’. Results suggest that activity‐based interventions may be useful for supporting better health in unemployed individuals.