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Poor quality employment is worse for mental health than no job at all and contributes to mental distress in new mothers
- Author:
- HOLTTUM Sue
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health and Social Inclusion, 16(2), 2012, pp.66-71.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Two recent research papers on employment and mental health, one relating to all sectors of the working age population and the other to women who had recently had a child, are reviewed and summarised in this article. Both studies involved large samples of people in Australia. In the first study, information from a longitudinal survey was used to follow people over time and assess whether the quality of employment was related to mental health. It found that mental health was significantly better for people who were in jobs compared to those who were not, but that a poor quality job was no better than unemployment in terms of mental health and that, when the effect of other predictors of mental ill health was taken into account, a poor quality job was worse than no job at all. The second study focused on employed women who had given birth in the previous 12 months and had returned to work. It assessed the effect of working conditions on mental health, and found that quality of employment predicted whether they experienced mental distress, with psychological distress significantly associated with poor employment conditions. The author reports that the papers add to understanding of the relationship between mental health and employment, and comments that social inclusion through employment may depend not only on being in work but on the quality of that work.
Improving social inclusion for young people diagnosed with “first episode psychosis”: employment, education and online support
- Author:
- HOLTTUM Sue
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health and Social Inclusion, 17(3), 2013, pp.112-117.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose – This article aims to summarise two papers from Australia on supporting young people in early intervention for psychosis. Both have implications for young people's social inclusion and the design of early intervention services. Design/methodology/approach – The first paper reports a new analysis of a trial of specialist employment and education support in an early intervention service. It used a statistical method called logistic regression to test whether only employment support predicted 41 participants’ success in getting into employment and education, or whether things like condition severity also mattered. The second paper reports on a new online support package for young people with “first episode psychosis” and how acceptable it was. The authors looked at 20 participants’ use of the package, and examined their well-being before and after using it. Findings – The first paper reported that nothing except getting specialist employment and education support predicted young people's entry to work or education. They recommend that young people in early intervention should not be denied vocational support because of things like “psychiatric symptoms”. In the second paper, young people in early intervention who used the online package reacted positively. The authors recommend a full controlled trial of the package. It could help young people when leaving the service to maintain their gains. Originality/value – These papers advance research on early intervention psychosis services regarding young people's social inclusion needs. Specialist vocational support could prevent life-long social exclusion. An innovative online support package has not yet been proven, but with fast-evolving technology, it might help future service users stay well when leaving the service. (Publisher abstract)