Abstract Aim Unemployed individuals are more often affected by depression, and their mental health can benefit from (re)integration into the labor market. However, the reduced level of psychosocial functioning associated with depression can prevent them from (re)entering working life. In order to better understand these mechanisms, we analyze the associations between unemployment, social network size, anxiety, somatization, and global level of functioning (GLoF). Subject and methods Our study is based on a sample from LIPSY, a project that aims to maintain or restore the employability of unemployed people with mental illness. Two regression analyses were conducted on a sample of participants diagnosed with depression (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision ICD-10 code: F32/F33) with the outcome variable GLoF (Global Assessment of Functioning GAF). In the first analysis, age, gender, education, living with a partner, and depression (Mini-Symptom Checklist MSCL) were used as predictors; in the second analysis, social network size (Lubben Social Network Scale LSNS-6), unemployment duration, anxiety, and somatization (MSCL) were added. Results Our sample included 286 unemployed individuals with depression, with an average age of 36.1 years and an average GAF of 48.5; 50.3% were female. The final regression showed a significant positive association between social network size and GLoF, and a significant negative association between anxiety and GLoF. There were no significant associations between either unemployment duration or somatization and GLoF. Conclusion Participants exhibited high levels of social isolation and anxiety as well as connections between both and GLoF, highlighting the importance of psychological screening/diagnostics in this high-risk group and the need for targeted prevention measures and therapeutic tools.
Hussenoeder et al. (Fri,) studied this question.