Ensminger M E, Celentano D D
Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205.
Soc Sci Med. 1988;27(3):239-47. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(88)90127-x.
Unemployment is viewed as one of the more stressful of life events that an adult can experience. Job loss leads to decreased social status, disrupts family and social roles, produces financial strain, and loss of self esteem, all of which have detrimental consequences for mental health. We studied psychiatric symptoms in 269 unemployed adults with dependent children in Baltimore; one-half of the sample had returned to work 1 year following unemployment. A comparison group of 92 community residents who were continuously employed were also interviewed. Using a stressful life events perspective, we examined three models of how life events relate to psychiatric distress suggested by Dohrenwend and Dohrenwend [1. Social Status and Psychological Disorder: A Causal Inquiry. Wiley, New York, 1969. 2. Am. J. commun. Psychol. 9, 128, 1981]. Our results support an 'additive burden' model of the stress process, which also shows recovery in mental health functioning upon subsequent reemployment. We suggest that the models tested did not take into account the meaning of the life event in terms of failure and that this meaning may influence its impact on psychological distress.
失业被视为成年人可能经历的压力较大的生活事件之一。失业会导致社会地位下降，扰乱家庭和社会角色，造成经济压力以及自尊的丧失，所有这些都会对心理健康产生不利影响。我们研究了巴尔的摩269名有未成年子女的失业成年人的精神症状；其中一半样本在失业一年后重返工作岗位。我们还采访了由92名持续就业的社区居民组成的对照组。从压力性生活事件的角度出发，我们考察了多赫伦温德和多赫伦温德[1.《社会地位与心理障碍：因果探究》。威利出版社，纽约，1969年。2.《美国社区心理学杂志》9，128，1981年]提出的三种生活事件与精神痛苦之间关系的模型。我们的研究结果支持压力过程的“累加负担”模型，该模型也表明随后重新就业时心理健康功能会恢复。我们认为所测试的模型没有考虑到生活事件在失败方面的意义，而这种意义可能会影响其对心理痛苦的影响。
