Poll: Long-Term Unemployed At Higher Risk for Depression

The Los Angeles Times (6/10, Kaplan) reports that according to the results of a Gallup poll (6/10) released June 9, “the longer a person has been out of work, the greater the chances that he or she will develop a clinical case of depression.” The poll revealed that “overall, unemployed Americans were nearly twice as likely as working Americans to be depressed – 12.4% versus 6.4%.” The poll data “are based on interviews with 356,599 Americans who were surveyed in 2013 for the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.”

The Washington Times (6/10, Klimas) reports that approximately one in every five individuals “who have been unemployed for 52 weeks or more report that they are either depressed or being treated for depression,” a figure nearly double that of those “who have been unemployed for just three to five weeks.” The poll also indicated that long-term unemployment “could lead to a higher rate of health problems like depression or anxiety.”

The Kansas City (MO) Star (6/10, Stafford) reports, “The long-term unemployed also may have financial worries that keep them from seeking professional help or filling prescriptions for medication that could help them.”

The National Journal (6/10, Berman, Subscription Publication) points out that “a 2003 study in the Journal of Clinical Psychology found that depression costs the US economy tens of billions of dollars annually, in part because of ‘direct treatment costs, lost earnings due to depression-related suicides, and indirect workplace costs.’” Also covering the story are the Huffington Post (6/9, Chan) and Forbes(6/9, Adams).

Related Links:

— “Risk of depression is nearly twice as high for unemployed Americans,” Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, June 10, 2014.

Posted in In The News.