RAPIDLY DECLINING MENTAL WELL-BEING DURING UNEMPLOYMENT

In this prospective controlled factory closure study the aim was to st udy the effect of unemployment on mental well-being. The study partici pants consisted of 118 unemployed and 136 employed from two similar wo od processing factories. The analysis was based on postal questionnair es at six and 18 months after the study subjects were given a notice. Mental well-being was assessed by General Health Questionnaire IGHQ-sc ore). Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI-score) and a scale for psychoso matic symptoms (PS-score). At baseline the mental well-being of the st udy group was impaired as compared to control group. During the follow -up, the depression and psychosomatic symptoms showed an increase in t he study group as compared to baseline. The changes in the mental well -being were not statistically significant in the control group. The pr evalence of depression and minor mental disorder was higher in study g roup than in control group bath at baseline and follow-up. Especially the frequency of those subjects with high BDI-scores increased during the fellow-up among unemployed. Our results imply that mental well-bei ng is relentlessly deteriorating one and an half years after beginning of unemployment.