Chapter 1: Introduction

Unemployment is an issue in many parts of the world. Studies have revealed that there is a relationship between unemployment and deteriorating mental health. However, there are those factors that distinguish the occurrence of the problem in different countries. In the developed countries, the growth in Information technology has led to loss of jobs aggravating the mental health problem. The automation of manufacturing companies and factories as well as the use of computers led to the replacement of human labor with machines. In the developing countries, there are fewer industries and the economic levels do not allow automation on a large scale.  Another factor is the size of the defense forces. In countries like the United States, the number of veterans retiring every year is high as compared to the developing countries. This combined with the existing problem of unemployment takes a toll on the already distressed veterans.

This paper will be focusing on answering the following questions

• Does unemployment lead to distress and low self-esteem?
• What are the distinguishing factors in countries where the unemployment problem is more aggressive and in countries where the problem is less harmful? (Information technology, defense forces size, economic growth)
• Are the negative effects of unemployment on health prevalent on age, gender, marital status and social class

Special attention will be paid to information technology as a distinguishing factor in countries where the problem is more aggressive. The argument to be presented is that in countries where IT has developed, it has replaced human labor on a large scale leading to high rates of unemployment. However, in the developing countries, IT has not been fully integrated in the labor market and the problem of unemployment because of automation is on a small scale.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Many studies have been done in an attempt to discover several aspects of this problem. Among the articles that will be used in reviewing the many researches that have been previously on this topic, include:

Paul, K. I. (2005). The negative mental health effect of unemployment: Meta-analyses of cross-sectional and longitudinal data. Fachbereich (Dissertation) Wirtschaftswissenschaften. Universität Nürnberg-Erlangen, Nürnberg.

  This article explains the different definitions of unemployment and utilizes cross-sectional and longitudinal data in analyzing the effects of unemployment on mental health.

Paul, K. I., & Moser, K. (2009). Unemployment impairs mental health: Meta-analyses. Journal of Vocational behavior, 74(3), 264-282.

 Through Meta analyses, this article combines data from several other studies to come up with a conclusion with a high statistical power. The articles concentrated on the impairment of mental health by unemployed by comparing the health levels of the employed and unemployed. It also discuses several intervention programs for the mental issue as caused by unemployment.

Murphy, G. C., & Athanasou, J. A. (1999). The effect of unemployment on mental health. Journal of Occupational and organizational Psychology, 72(1), 83-99.

This article used Meta analyses to address two questions. One of the questions was whether gaining employment has any impact on ones mental health and the second was the extent to losing a job affects ones mental health.

Artazcoz, L., Benach, J., Borrell, C., & Cortès, I. (2004). Unemployment and mental health: understanding the interactions among gender, family roles, and social class. American Journal of public health, 94(1), 82-88.

 This article looks at the prevalence of the mental health problem among different genders, family roles, marital status, and social class.

The above articles among others will be used in the literature review to have an insight into the facts that have been previously generated by others about the relationship between unemployment and mental health.

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