PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF LONG-TERM U NEMPLOYMENT - REVIEW OF THELITERATURE

Three aspects of the psychological consequences of long-term unemploym ent are reviewed. First, the impact of long-term unemployment upon the psychological well-being is outlined. Different longitudinal studies in various countries show a significant deterioration of the psycholog ical health of the unemployed, which stabilizes after a certain period of time. This stabilization of the mental health at a lower level of well-being is caused by a process of adaptation: The long-term unemplo yed adapt to their new role and withdraw from the labour market by low ering their employment commitment and their job seeking behaviour. In the second part of this review, we show that the probability of findin g work decreases because of this adaptation process. In the third part of this article. research on the psychological impact of re-employmen t is reviewed. It shows that the psychological well-being of the previ ously unemployed improves strongly once they find work. Long-term unem ployment thus creates a vicious circle. It leads to the deterioration of the mental health. This deterioration can be stopped by adapting on eself to unemployment. This adaptation however, reduces the probabilit y of finding work, while only re-employment re-establishes the psychol ogical well-being at the pre-unemployment level.