Effects of unemployment on mental health in the contemporary family.
Job loss in the family often hides behind new client problems—ask about it.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Winett et al. (1991) read every paper they could find on job loss and family mental health.
They pulled together stories from parents, teens, and spouses who lived through layoffs.
The review covers the 1980s recession and shows how money stress spreads through homes.
What they found
Unemployment hurts every family member, not just the person who lost the job.
Kids act out more. Spouses fight more. Everyone feels more sad and worried.
The paper says clinicians often miss this link and treat only the surface symptoms.
How this fits with other research
Hubert et al. (2007) also says to look at risk factors, but focuses on anxiety disorders.
Both papers agree: find the root cause, not just the behavior you see.
Killeen (1995) looks at school setting events. Winett et al. (1991) shows job loss is a home setting event.
Together they tell you to scan both school and home contexts for stress triggers.
Why it matters
Next time a client shows new problem behavior, ask "Has anyone in the house lost a job lately?" This single question can reveal hidden stress that drives the behavior you see.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add one intake question: "Has anyone in your home lost a job in the last six months?"
02At a glance
03Original abstract
This article summarizes research conducted in the past 20 years concerning mental health effects of involuntary job loss. The majority of studies and previous reviews focus on unemployment effects on men. Although these studies are also reviewed, this article highlights studies of (a) the involuntarily unemployed woman, (b) the spouse of the unemployed person, and (c) their children. Within each of these research areas, the authors consider studies grouped according to their methodological strength for drawing causal inferences about the impact of job loss on psychological status, ranging from cross-sectional to longitudinal to prospective studies. The implications of the unemployment literature not only for future research but also for clinical practice are addressed. Knowledge of family effects of this stressful life circumstance is critical to developing effective treatment plans for patients who, although perhaps not the direct victims of job loss themselves, may nevertheless present with problems indirectly caused or exacerbated by unemployment within the family.
Behavior modification, 1991 · doi:10.1177/01454455910154004