Welcome to a CEDAR seminar with Wooseong Kim, Stockholm University Demography Unit (SUDA).
Does the impact of unemployment on mental health depend on previous employment conditions? A Longitudinal Study of Swedish Workers
While unemployment is a common adverse life event with well-established negative health effects, little is known about whether these consequences vary between standard and non-standard employees. Differences in institutional support and financial resources may buffer or exacerbate effects of unemployment, yet empirical evidence on this is limited. This study examines whether the mental health consequences of unemployment vary by previous employment conditions.
Using the register-based Swedish Work, Illness, and Labour Market Participation cohort, which includes all individuals aged 16–64 residing in Sweden in 2005, we compared the risk of first diagnosis of common mental disorders (CMD) or first prescription of psychiatric medication between unemployed and employed individuals. We tested the association between unemployment and mental health using Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate adjusted hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals. Two-way interactions between unemployment and employment conditions (standard, substandard, precarious) were added to the models. Results show that both unemployment and exposure to substandard or precarious employment independently increase CMD risk.
We found weak or no evidence of multiplicative interaction between unemployment and previous employment type, but modest positive additive interaction was observed. This indicates that the relative risk increase associated with unemployment is similar for standard and non-standard employees (lack of multiplicative interaction), yet the absolute extra burden—measured by new CMD cases attributable to unemployment—is greater among those previously in precarious employment (positive additive interaction). These findings suggest that while unemployment affects all workers' mental health similarly in relative terms, non-standard employees face a disproportionate absolute burden.
All interested are welcome to participate in CEDAR seminars. The seminars are held on floor 4 NBET and online via Zoom. If you wish to participate via zoom contact Mojgan Padyab.
