title: Coping with unemployment: the impact of unemployment on mental health, personality, and social interaction skills.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Unemployment is known to be associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. However, there is ambiguity about the direction of this association.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Different to large surveys, the present pilot-study focuses on a detailed characterization of unemployed and strictly matched employed subjects. Besides depressive symptoms and personality factors, their level of social and communicative skills was determined by an experimental behavioral paradigm.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-two subjects were screened; 62 showed relevant exclusion criteria or failed the matching procedure. Finally, 30 subjects (15 employed, 15 unemployed) participated.
  
  
  METHODS
  The experimental group-paradigm consisted of a complex standardized challenge situation, which demands communicative and social skills for a successful solution. This was followed by an individualized video-based behavioral analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Expectedly, unemployed subjects showed more depressive symptoms than employed subjects but did not show higher levels of susceptible personality traits. There were no differences between employed and unemployed subjects in social and communicative competencies; these skills however correlated positively with the level of depression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Unemployment is an important stressor, affecting mental health. The absence of susceptible traits and skills deficits suggests that depressive syndromes are rather resulting than cause of unemployment. Social skills do not prevent depressive reactions during unemployment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pelzer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schaffrath
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany Jülich/Aachen Research Alliance (JARA), Jülich/Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Ingo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vernaleken
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003142:Communication; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D010865:Pilot Projects; D058992:Social Participation; D066107:Social Skills; D014478:Unemployment / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Employment; depressive symptoms; individual competencies; personality