Psychosocial Impact of Job Loss on Individuals and Families

A large number of studies have been undertaken to evaluate the psy chosocial impact of involuntary job loss on unemployed workers and their families,1 but until recently the findings have been mixed and in conclusive. The primary reason is that it has been difficult to firmly es tablish that job loss causes psycho social difficulties. The rival hypoth esis, that persons with mental health problems are more likely than others to lose their jobs, is difficult to rule out unless representative samples of both employed and unemployed persons can be followed over time. In addition, most studies on the impact of unemployment have fo cused on individuals rather than on families. It is only recently that we have begun to gather evidence that the impact of unemployment can ra diate throughout the personal-social network of the unemployed individ