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. 2022 Oct;34(6-8):1081-1091.
doi: 10.1177/08982643221091775. Epub 2022 May 6.

The Life Course of Unemployment and Midlife Health

Adrianne Frech  1 , Sarah Damaske  2 , Adrienne Ohler  1
Affiliations

The Life Course of Unemployment and Midlife Health

Adrianne Frech et al. J Aging Health. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: We estimate associations between unemployment trajectories from ages 27-49 and physical and mental health at age 50. Methods: Data are from the U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 (N=6434). Group-based trajectory models are used to identify unemployment trajectories. Generalized linear models with a modified Bolck, Croon, and Hagenaars (BCH) correction are used to regress health on unemployment trajectory groups. Results: We identified "Consistently Low (70%)," "Decreasing Mid-Career (18%)," and "Persistently High (12%)" unemployment trajectories. Experiencing Decreasing Mid-Career or Persistently High trajectories was associated with worse physical and mental health at age 50 than Consistently Low trajectories. Experiencing a Persistently High trajectory was associated with worse physical and mental health than a Decreasing Mid-Career trajectory. Discussion: Timing and likelihood of unemployment are associated with midlife health. Mid-Career unemployment is associated with worse physical and mental health at age 50, but not to the same degree as Persistently High unemployment.

Keywords: employment; lifecourse; social factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure C1.
Figure C1.
Group-based trajectories of unemployment among respondents born from 1957 to 1960, N= 3058.
Figure C2.
Figure C2.
Group-based trajectories of unemployment among respondents born from 1961 to 1964, N=3376.
Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Proportion unemployed from ages 27-49, N=6434.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Group-based trajectories of unemployment from ages 27-49, N=6434.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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