Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Mar;35(1):88-95.
doi: 10.1007/s10926-024-10188-w. Epub 2024 Apr 17.

Self-Perceived Interpersonal Problems Among Long-Term Unemployed Individuals, and Vocational Rehabilitation Programs (In)ability to Change Them

Martin Mau  1   2 , Kirsten K Roessler  3 , Lotte N Andersen  4 , Maria L Vang  3   5
Affiliations

Self-Perceived Interpersonal Problems Among Long-Term Unemployed Individuals, and Vocational Rehabilitation Programs (In)ability to Change Them

Martin Mau et al. J Occup Rehabil. 2025 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: Self-perceived interpersonal problems can challenge one's access to the work market, making it harder to attain and keep a job while adding to the distress of being outside of the labor market.

Methods: In this study, we compared the self-perceived interpersonal problems among long-term unemployed individuals taking part in vocational rehabilitation programs (VRPs) (N = 220) with those of the general population. In addition, we examined whether their self-perceived interpersonal problems changed while taking part in the VRPs.

Results: We found that participants report significantly higher levels of self-perceived interpersonal problems as measured by the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP), especially with regard to feeling cold/distanced, socially inhibited, vindictive/self-centered, and non-assertive. The participants did not report a significant decrease in self-perceived interpersonal problems after being part of VRPs for one year.

Conclusion: These results are relevant as they may inform interventions targeted this population aimed at increasing employability and/or individual well-being. Importantly, the findings may be viewed as a reflection of both social and individual processes. Long-term unemployed individuals' tendency to feel insufficiently engaged may reflect difficulty with keeping up with a job market in constant change.

Keywords: Unemployment; interpersonal problems; rehabilitation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical Approval: The study was conducted in accordance with the WMA Declaration of Helsinki ethical principles [31]. The study was considered exempt from ethical approval by the Regional Scientific Ethics Committee for Southern Denmark as the study does not fall within the scope of the Medical Research Involving Human Subject Act (§14). The study was ethically approved by the University of Southern Denmark Research & Innovation Organization, SDU RIO. (j.nr. 17/33912) (approval date: 29 August 2019). The trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02 641704 (date of registration: December 29, 2015).

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Radar diagram illustrating IIP-score across baseline and post intervention
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Kim TJ, von dem Knesebeck O. Perceived job insecurity, unemployment and depressive symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2016;89:561–573. - PubMed
    1. Brohan E, Evans-Lacko S, Henderson C, Murray J, Slade M, Thornicroft G. Disclosure of a mental health problem in the employment context: qualitative study of beliefs and experiences. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences. 2014;23(3):289–300. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Evans J, Repper J. Employment, social inclusion and mental health. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2000;7(1):15–24. - PubMed
    1. Paul KI, Moser K. Unemployment impairs mental health: meta-analyses. J Vocat Behav. 2009;74(3):264–282.
    1. Tøge AG, Blekesaune M. Unemployment transitions and self-rated health in Europe: A longitudinal analysis of EU-SILC from 2008 to 2011. Soc Sci Med. 2015;143:171–178. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources