Social and clinical correlates of unemployment in two cohorts of male parasuicides

Summary

The association between employment status and selected personal characteristics was measured in two cohorts of economically active male parasuicides admitted to hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland, during the periods 1968–1971 (a time of economic prosperity) and 1980–1983 (a time of economic recession). In a preliminary analysis, the unemployed were found to report more problems on a number of clinical and social variables compared to those in work. However, the incidence of future suicide did not differ significantly between employment groups. A more sophisticated analysis, based on a logistic linear response model, demonstrated that the discriminatory power of employment status persisted after controlling for its interaction with age and social class. The unemployed were significantly more likely to be unmarried, to live alone or in an institution, to have experienced early separation from mother, to have received psychiatric treatment, to be given a diagnosis of abnormal personality, to have a criminal record, to be in serious debt, and to misuse drugs habitually. The null hypothesis of equally strong associations between the dependent variables and employment status in the two time periods was not refuted. The correlates of unemployment in this population appeared to be unaffected by the prevailing economic climate. The limitations of the study design preclude a choice between alternative self-selection and causal models of the relationship between unemployment and parasuicide.