The Moderating Effect of Social Support and Social Integration on the Relationship Between Involuntary Job Loss and Health.

BACKGROUND

Job loss is a stressful life event that is associated with changes in somatic, behavioral, and affective well-being. This cohort study investigates whether social support and social integration moderate the relationship between job loss and mental health.

METHODS

Data from four waves of the Americans' Changing Lives data set were collapsed into three wave-pairs. Our sample comprised 1,474 observations, from which we identified 120 job losses. We applied longitudinal regression models in benchmark moderation analysis; finite mixture modeling was then applied to investigate complex heterogeneity.

RESULTS

Our findings suggest that social support, and not social integration, buffered the involuntary job loss-depressive symptoms relationship among a subgroup of individuals who were more likely to be White, higher educated, and have higher social support prior to job loss.

CONCLUSION

Policies that incentivize education, promote financial and health literacy, and strengthen families may reduce vulnerability to the mental health effects of job loss.