Young Adult Unemployment and Later Depression and Anxiety: Does Childhood Neighborhood Matter?

Publisher: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0333507 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1573-6601 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00472891 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Youth Adolesc Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: 1999- : New York, NY : Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
Original Publication: New York, Plenum Press.

Anxiety/*epidemiology ; Depression/*epidemiology ; Ethnicity/*statistics & numerical data ; Residence Characteristics/*statistics & numerical data ; Unemployment/*statistics & numerical data; Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Longitudinal Studies ; Male ; Mental Health/statistics & numerical data ; Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology ; Unemployment/psychology ; Young Adult

Young adulthood represents a developmental period with disproportionately heightened risk of losing a job. Young adult unemployment has been linked to increased mental health problems, at least in the short term. However, their possible long-term impacts, often referred as "scarring effects," have been understudied, possibly underestimating the magnitude of mental health burden that young adult unemployment generates. This longitudinal study examined whether duration of unemployment during young adulthood is associated with later mental health disorders, after accounting for mental and behavioral health problems in childhood. Furthermore, the current study investigated whether childhood neighborhood characteristics affect this association and if so, in what specific functional ways. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of developmental outcomes in a community sample in Seattle. Data collection began in 1985 when study participants were elementary students and involved yearly assessments in childhood and adolescence (ages 10-16) and then biennial or triennial assessments (ages 18-39; N = 677 at age 39; 47% European American, 26% African American, 22% Asian American, and 5% Native American; 49% female). The current study findings suggest that duration of unemployment across young adulthood increased mental health problems at age 39, regardless of gender. Childhood neighborhood characteristics, particularly their positive aspect, exerted independent impacts on adult mental health problems beyond unemployment experiences across young adulthood. The current findings indicate a needed shift in service profiles for unemployed young adults-a comprehensive approach that not only facilitates reemployment but also addresses mental health needs to help them to cope with job loss. Further, the present study findings suggest that childhood neighborhoods, particularly positive features such as positive neighborhood involvement, may represent concrete and malleable prevention targets that can curb mental health problems early in life.

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R01 DA009679 United States DA NIDA NIH HHS; R01 DA024411 United States DA NIDA NIH HHS; R01DA033956 National Institute on Drug Abuse; R01DA024411 National Institute on Drug Abuse; R01 DA033956 United States DA NIDA NIH HHS; R01DA009679 National Institute on Drug Abuse

Keywords: Life course; Mental health; Perceived neighborhood characteristics in childhood; Scarring effects; Unemployment; Young adulthood

Date Created: 20181128 Date Completed: 20190403 Latest Revision: 20211204

20240105

PMC6360094

10.1007/s10964-018-0957-8

30478821