ArticleBMC psychiatry2013
Mental health affects future employment as job loss affects mental health: findings from a longitudinal population study.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 110 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
110 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 257 citations in OpenAlex.
- What works for whom: a systematic review of inequalities in inclusion and effectiveness of social interventions for mental ill- health.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Pooled it
- The Relationship Between Mental Health and Employment Status Among United States Veterans: A Systematic Review.Military medicine · 2026Pooled it
- What Is the Impact of Unemployment as an Adverse Experience? Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Mental health outcomes in times of economic recession: a systematic literature review.BMC public health · 2016Pooled it
- How does unemployment affect self-assessed health? A systematic review focusing on subgroup effects.BMC public health · 2014Pooled it
- Job Loss Due to COVID-19: A Longitudinal Study of Mental Health, Protective and Risk Factors.Psychological reports · 2026Trial
- Can targeted job-information for adults with spinal cord dysfunction be effectively delivered online? A pilot study.The journal of spinal cord medicine · 2019Trial
- Trajectories of cigarette smoking from adolescence to adulthood as predictors of unemployment status.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2014Trial
- Return to Work or Not: The Paths to Psychiatric Disability and Back.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Job Problems in Suicide: National Violent Death Reporting System, 2020-2022.American journal of preventive medicine · 2026Article
- Health services and digital technologies used for mental health among a national cross-sectional sample of young people in Australia 2020-2022: Patterns and correlates within geographic regions.The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2026Article
- First-incidence of common mental disorders now and 12 years ago: Results from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Studies (NEMESIS).European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2026Article
- Does higher education shape change in happiness during the COVID-19 pandemic? Evidence from working-age adults in China.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- 3for1 intervention program-short-term psychotherapy, job coaching, and peer support for unemployed individuals facing psychological distress: a community case study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Is employment status associated with baseline symptoms, engagement, and outcomes in naturalistic psychotherapy? Evaluation in a large community mental health agency.Psychotherapy (Chicago, Ill.) · 2025Article
- Trends in psychotropic medication across occupation types before and during the Covid-19 pandemic: a linked administrative data study.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025Article
- Insurance coverage and employment after Medicaid expansion with work requirements: quasi-experimental difference-in-differences study.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2025Article
- Leveraging multigenerational health data to enhance mental disorder risk prediction: a population-based cohort study.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- History of Alcohol Use Disorder and Housing Instability as Predictors of Fatigue and Mental Health Problems During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2025Article
50 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWorkforce participation is a key feature of public mental health and social inclusion policies across the globe, and often a therapeutic goal in treatment settings. Understanding the reciprocal relationship between participation and mental health has been limited by inadequate research methods. This is the first study to simultaneously examine and contrast the relative effects of unemployment on mental health and mental health on employment status in a single general population sample.
methodData were from working-age respondents (20 to 55 years at baseline) who completed nine waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey (N=7176). Cross-lagged path analyses were used to test the lagged and concurrent associations between unemployment and mental health over time, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics.
resultsMental health was shown to be both a consequence of and risk factor for unemployment. Thus, the poorer mental health observed amongst people who are not working is attributable to both the impact of unemployment and existing mental health problems. While the strength of these two effects was similar for women, the results for men suggested that the effect of unemployment on subsequent mental health was weaker than the effect of mental health on subsequent risk of unemployment.
conclusionDisentangling the reciprocal links between mental health and workforce participation is central to the development and success of clinical goals and health and social policies that aim to promote either aspect. This study demonstrates that both effects are important and supports concurrent responses to prevent a cycle of disadvantage and entrenched social exclusion.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.