WORK AND EARNINGS LOSSES DUE TO MENTAL-ILLNESS - PERSPECTIVES FROM 3 NATIONAL SURVEYS

Mental illness reduces the capacity of individuals to work. The extent of this reduction and its cost to society have long been of interest. The existing literature on this subject is extensive but is primarily focused on specific DSM disorders or on followup studies on small gro ups (often the participants have schizophrenia). The authors present d ata from three national surveys that compare the relationship between mental illness and work loss across all DSM categories, and offer pers pectives on what factors determine who works within a DSM category. Th ey also update information on the aggregate work loss due to mental il lness.