Madness and Work: Short- and Long-Term Effects of Mental Illness on Occupational Careers

This study assesses the impact of mental illness on occupational careers. Thirty-six married men who first entered mental hospitals in the 1950s were followed up in 1972 and eighteen men who were first hospitalized in 1973–74 were interviewed. Their histories reveal the importance of the development of competence in the work role prior to the onset of mental illness. Those who were able to develop competence were likely to retain their jobs through the initial episode of illness and to remain occupationally stable in the ensuing years even in the face of persistent symptomatology. The data are interpreted as evidence that the label, “mental patient,” does not constitute a master status and in and of itself does not significantly affect occupational careers.