Favourable employment status change and psychological depression: A two-year follow-up analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth

This study examines the relationship between favourable employment change a nd well-being. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, respondents who were inadequately employed (i.e. unemployed or underemployed, N = 1,16 0) in 1992 were followed up in 1994. Results suggest that among the unemplo yed in 1992 (time-1), higher depression at time-1 was significantly associa ted with decreased odds of both adequate employment and underemployment rel ative to unemployment at time-2 (1994). Among the underemployed at time-1, gender moderated the relationship between time-1 depression and employment at time-2. The odds of employment (both adequate and underemployment) were higher for males than females at lower levels of depression, but this gende r advantage fell as depression increased. Additional analyses revealed that any employment at time-2 relative to unemployment was significantly associ ated with lower depression in 1994 when controlling for time-1 depression a nd other important background variables. Neither time-1 status (unemploymen t versus underemployment) nor type of time-2 employment (adequate versus un deremployment) were significantly associated with later depression.