UNEMPLOYMENT, FINANCIAL STRESS AND MENTAL WELL-BEING - A FACTORY CLOSURE STUDY

The association between financial situation and mental well-being was studied in a factory closure study involving the entire personnel (n = 211) of Finnforest wood-processing factory six months after they had been made redundant. Mental well-being was measured using a 12-item Ge neral Health Questionnaire (GHQ score), a 13-item Beck's Depression In ventory (BDI score), and a 13-item questionnaire assessing psychosomat ic symptoms (PS score). One hundred and sixty-eight persons (79%) retu rned the questionnaires. Thirty-three subjects were excluded from the analysis because they had already found a new job. Thirty-four per cen t (n = 49) considered their financial situation poor and 66% (n = 86) moderate. Those who considered their financial situation poor experien ced impaired mental well-being more often than the others. Poor financ ial situation and insufficient social support were related to impaired mental well-being. A similar association was noted in people who asse ssed their health as poor and in those who were uncertain about their future. In the linear discriminant analysis, people who experienced th eir financial situation as poor were most clearly differentiated from the rest in terms of GHQ score, health status, sex and PS score.