Abstract
BackgroundWhile a strong negative impact of unemployment on health has been established, the present research examined the lesser studied interplay of gender, social context and job loss on health trajectories.MethodsData from the German Socio-Economic Panel was used, which provided a representative sample of 6838 participants. Using latent growth modelling the effects of gender, social context (East vs. West Germans), unemployment (none, short-term or long-term), and their interactions were examined on health (single item measures of self-rated health and life satisfaction respectively).ResultsSocial context in general significantly predicted the trajectories of self-rated health and life satisfaction. Most notably, data analysis revealed that West German women reported significantly lower baseline values of self-rated health following unemployment and did not recover to the levels of their East German counterparts. Only long-term, not short-term unemployment was related to lower baseline values of self-rated health, whereas, in relation to baseline values of life satisfaction, both types of unemployment had a similar negative effect.ConclusionsIn an economic crisis, individuals who already carry a higher burden, and not only those most directly affected economically, may show the greatest health effects.
Highlights
While a strong negative impact of unemployment on health has been established, the present research examined the lesser studied interplay of gender, social context and job loss on health trajectories
Age was the strongest predictor of self-rated health, while household income was the strongest predictor of life satisfaction
We examined the interplay of gender, social context and job loss on long-term effects of health in a period and social context where drastic unemployment divided a population
Summary
While a strong negative impact of unemployment on health has been established, the present research examined the lesser studied interplay of gender, social context and job loss on health trajectories. Beyond the apparent financial strain [1], unemployment can lead to a change in a person’s time structure, their social relationships and in their identity [2, 3]. The negative relationship between unemployment and health is widely. An improvement in health is generally seen after reemployment (e.g., [3]). Clark et al [6] examined the long-term effect of job loss and reemployment on life satisfaction and found that some people did not return to their baseline values many years after the end of their unemployment
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