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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2008.152561v1 99/10/1826    most recent Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Mossakowski, K. N. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mossakowski, K. N. Related Collections Gender Mental Health Socioeconomic Factors

Krysia N. Mossakowski, PhD

Krysia N. Mossakowski is with the Department of Sociology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL.

Correspondence: Correspondence should be sent to Krysia N. Mossakowski, Department of Sociology, University of Miami, 5202 University Dr, Merrick Building 122H, Coral Gables, FL, 33146 (e-mail: krysia{at}miami.edu). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking the "Reprints/Eprints" link.

Objectives. I examined whether unemployment while looking for a job and being out of the labor force while not seeking work have distinct effects on symptoms of depression among young women and men in the United States. I also investigated whether past unemployment duration predicts depressive symptoms.

Methods. I used ordinary least squares regression to analyze data from the 1979–1994 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

Results. Cross-sectional results suggested that current unemployment status and out-of-the-labor-force status were significantly associated with depressive symptoms at ages 29 through 37 years. The association between being out of the labor force and depressive symptoms was stronger for men. Longitudinal results revealed that past unemployment duration across 15 years of the transition to adulthood significantly predicted depressive symptoms, net of demographics, family background, current socioeconomic status, and prior depressive symptoms. However, duration out of the labor force did not predict depressive symptoms.

Conclusions. Longer durations of unemployment predict higher levels of depressive symptoms among young adults. Future research should measure duration longitudinally and distinguish unemployment from being out of the labor force to advance our understanding of socioeconomic mental health disparities.