Stress and Distress among the Unemployed: Hard Times and Vulnerable People (Springer Studies in Work and Industry)

Employing both large-scale surveys and in-depth interviews, the authors document the mental health effects on workers caused by the closure of four General Motor plants. They paint a portrait of how the social context in which these workers lived played a critical role in their experiences of unemployment or of keeping their jobs when others around them lost theirs. More than simply a study of unemployment and mental health, this book is also a story of coping and resilience. Front Matter....Pages i-xv Introduction: Stress and the Life Course during Hard Times....Pages 1-17 The Study: Sites, Sample, Method, and Measures....Pages 19-38 Unemployment and Reemployment....Pages 39-58 Feelings: Downsizing’s Effects on Individuals and Families....Pages 59-80 The Structure of Stress: Workers’ Characteristics and the Stress Process....Pages 81-101 A Question of Worth: Financial Circumstances, the Self, and Distress....Pages 103-129 The Persistence of Stress: Negative Life Events in the Recent and Distant Past....Pages 131-159 Psychological Resources and Distress....Pages 161-184 Individual versus Collective Resources....Pages 185-209 Conclusions: What Have We Learned....Pages 211-216 Back Matter....Pages 217-226