Unemployment, Social Vulnerability, and Health in Europe

It is not easy to summarize the studies that have dealt with the health effects of un- employment on the unemployed. The main problem impeding a comparison of their results is the diversity of theoretical constructs associated with physical and especially mental health and, above all, an apparently inexhaustible variety of op- erationalizations of these constructs. It is significant that the six conclusions drawn from the present state of unemployment research by the organizers of a re- cent conference on the individual and social consequences of unemployment in- cluded the following request: "e;In view of the relevant constructs, it seems to be most urgent to find or to develop operationalizations which can be agreed upon, in order to guarantee comparability of research results"e; (Kieselbach and Wacker 1985, p. XX; my translation). Nevertheless, the results of these studies allow the statement that a negative in- fluence of job loss on psychological well-being can be regarded as a validated finding. The influence on physical health, however, must be assessed very careful- ly and in a differentiated manner. The few investigations dealing with this ques- tion arrive at different conclusions; moreover, possibly relieving effects of unem- ployment on health come into sight.