abstract: 'Background: Workforce 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.

  Method: Data 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.

  Results: Mental 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.

  Conclusion: Disentangling 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.'
affiliation: 'Olesen, SC (Corresponding Author), Australian Natl Univ, Coll Med Biol
  \& Environm, Ctr Res Ageing Hlth \& Wellbeing, Bldg 62A Eggleston Rd, Acton, ACT
  0200, Australia.

  Olesen, Sarah C.; Butterworth, Peter; Leach, Liana S., Australian Natl Univ, Coll
  Med Biol \& Environm, Ctr Res Ageing Hlth \& Wellbeing, Acton, ACT 0200, Australia.

  Kelaher, Margaret; Pirkis, Jane, Univ Melbourne, Fac Med Dent \& Hlth Sci, Melbourne
  Sch Populat \& Global Hlth, Carlton, Vic 3010, Australia.'
article-number: '144'
author: Olesen, Sarah C. and Butterworth, Peter and Leach, Liana S. and Kelaher, Margaret
  and Pirkis, Jane
author-email: sarah.olesen@anu.edu.au
author_list:
- family: Olesen
  given: Sarah C.
- family: Butterworth
  given: Peter
- family: Leach
  given: Liana S.
- family: Kelaher
  given: Margaret
- family: Pirkis
  given: Jane
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-13-144
eissn: 1471-244X
files: []
journal: BMC PSYCHIATRY
keywords: 'Mental health; Unemployment; Employment; Inclusion; Longitudinal; Social

  policy'
keywords-plus: 'LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYMENT; PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS; NATIONAL-SURVEY;

  PREDICTORS; SELECTION; SCHIZOPHRENIA; TRANSITIONS; DEPRESSION;

  RETIREMENT; SYMPTOMS'
language: English
month: MAY 24
number-of-cited-references: '43'
orcid-numbers: 'Leach, Liana/0000-0003-3686-2553

  Butterworth, Peter/0000-0002-1531-3881

  kelaher, Margaret/0000-0002-9899-858X

  Olesen, Sarah/0000-0001-9564-6661'
papis_id: b3f7cd7e4b5456406b08c3f7137aed43
ref: Olesen2013mentalhealth
researcherid-numbers: 'Butterworth, Peter/AFK-2636-2022

  '
times-cited: '145'
title: 'Mental health affects future employment as job loss affects mental health:
  findings from a longitudinal population study'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000320281000001
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '42'
volume: '13'
web-of-science-categories: Psychiatry
year: '2013'