Unemployment, distress, and coping: a panel study of autoworkers.
This study of coping with unemployment traces the distress levels of workers in 4 closing and 12 nonclosing General Motors (GM) plants. Workers were interviewed 3 months before plants closed, 1 year after, and 2 years after (final N = 1,136). Tested were (a) effects of unemployment on symptoms of depression, anxiety, and somatization; (b) linkages between depression and subsequent unemployment, controlling for workers' gender, race, marital status, age, education, prior income, and seniority; and (c) the relationship between workers' coping decisions and subsequent depression. Results showed that unemployment at Waves 2 and 3 was related to prior frequency of symptoms of depression. Depression, in turn, was alleviated for workers whose coping decisions at Wave 2 fit with their Wave 3 outcomes: those who both wanted and found a job, lost a job they disliked, or remained unemployed as planned.
Hamilton
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VL
Department of Sociology, University of Maryland.
Hoffman
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Broman
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CL
Rauma
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D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001336:Automobiles; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D008297:Male; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D014478:Unemployment / Q000523:psychology*