The effect of leaving employment on mental health: testing ‘adaptation’ versus ‘sensitisation’ in a cohort of working-age Australians

• Published in: Occupational and environmental medicine (London, England) England), 2014-03, Vol.71 (3), p.167-174
• Main Authors: Milner, A, Spittal, M J, Page, A, LaMontagne, A D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Australia; Biological and medical sciences; Cohort Studies; Economic surveys; Employment; Employment - psychology; Female; Health surveys; Household income; Households; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical sciences; Mental Disorders - etiology; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Occupational medicine; P values; Psychological Theory; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Quality of life; Risk Factors; Sensitization; Stress, Psychological - complications; Studies; Unemployment; Unemployment - psychology; Wellbeing; Work; Workforce; Workplace
• ISSN: 1351-0711; 1470-7926
• DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2013-101759

Objectives To investigate the ‘adaptation’ versus ‘sensitisation’ hypotheses in relation to mental health and labour market transitions out of employment to determine whether mental health stabilised (adaptation) or worsened (sensitisation) as people experienced one or more periods without work. Methods The Household Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia (HILDA) longitudinal survey was used to investigate the relationship between the number of times a person had been unemployed or had periods out of the labour force (ie, spells without work) and the Mental Component Summary (MCS) of the Short Form 36 (SF-36). Demographic, health and employment related confounders were included in a series of multilevel regression models. Results During 2001–2010, 3362 people shifted into unemployment and 1105 shifted from employment to not in the labour force. Compared with participants who did not shift, there was a 1.64-point decline (95% CI −2.05 to −1.23, p