Korean journal of psychology:General (한국심리학회지ㆍ일반)

Korean Health Psychological Association (한국건강심리학회)
권호 표지

The Longitudinal Effects of Youth Unemployment on Mental Health

청년실업이 정신건강에 미치는 영향에 대한 종단연구

Jang, Jae-Yun;Jang, Eun-Yeong;Kim, Beom-Seong;No, Yeon-Hui;Lee, Ji-Yeong;Han, Ji-Hyeon
장재윤;장은영;김범성;노연희;이지영;한지현

  • Published : 2004.12.31
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Abstract

Two hypotheses have been suggested to explain the relationship between youth unemployment and mental health. One is 'the exposure hypothesis'which insists that youth unemployment causes a decline in mental health and the other is 'the selection hypothesis' which insists that people with low mental health are less likely to be employed. To test these competing hypotheses, we designed longitudinal study composed by three surveys administered to adolescents at six-month intervals. At all three points, participants were asked to answer GHQ (General Health Questionnaire) to measure the level of mental health. First (T1) survey was performed by the questionnaire and the data of 2,747 senior students from twenty universities in Korea was collected. Second (T2) and third (T3) surveys were performed by use of the e-mail on internet. The data of 1,301 adolescents was collected at T2, and the data of 1,384 was collected at T3. The data of 893 adolescents who were identified whether employed or not were used for final analysis. We divided this data into three groups: First, 'unemployment-unemployment group(G1)' was composed by the adolescents who were unemployed at T2 and T3. Second, 'unemployment-employment group(G2)' was composed by the adolescents who were unemployed at T2 and employed at T3. Third, 'employment-employment group(G3)' was composed by the adolescents who were employed at T2 and T3. GHQ-depression anxiety at T1 was affected by a male-group, but not in a female-group. Thus, the selection hypothesis was partially supported. The results are as follows: First. regarding the G1, total score of GHQ at T3 was higher than that measured at T1 and T2. Second. concerning the G2, total score of GHQ at T3 was lower than the score at T1. Finally, regarding the G3, total score of GHQ at T2 and T3 were lower than the score at T1. In addition, we also tested the effects of group on GHQ at T3 with total GHQ score at T1 as a covariate and found that G1's GHQ score was higher than that of G2 and G3. These results support the exposure hypothesis. The limitations of this study and the implications for future studies were discussed.

청년실업과 정신건강의 관계를 다룬 연구들에서는 크게 두 가지 가설이 제안되어 왔다. 바로 청년실업이 정신건강 수준을 낮춘다는 노출가설과 정신건강 수준이 본래 낮은 사람들이 실업상태에 있게 된다는 선택가설이다. 본 연구에서는 이러한 경쟁가설을 검증하기 위해서 종단연구를 실시하였다. 대학교 4학년생들을 대상으로 1차 조사를 실시하고 이후 6개월 간격으로 2차 조사와 3차 조사를 실시하였다. 세 시점에서 모두 응답자들의 정신건강 수준을 알아보기 위해서 GHQ를 측정하였다. 1차 조사는 질문지에 응답하도록 하여 전국 20개 대학에서 총 2,747명의 자료를 수집하였다. 2차 조사와 3차 조사는 1차 조사 때 확보한 조사 대상자의 이메일을 통해 인터넷 상에서 자료를 수집하였다. 2차 조사에서는 최종 1,301명의 자료를 얻었고, 3차 조사에서는 최종 1,384명의 자료를 얻었다. 이 중 2차 시점과 3차 시점에서 취업여부가 확인된 최종 893명의 자료를 사용하였다. 이 자료를 본 연구의 주요가설을 검증하기 위해서 2차 시점과 3차 시점의 취업여부에 의해서 2차 시점과 3차 시점에서 모두 미취업 상태 ‘미취업-미취업’집단, 2차 시점에서 미취업 상태이었으나 3차 시점에서 취업 상태인 ‘미취업-취업’집단 그리고 2차 시점과 3차 시점에서 모두 취업 상태인 ‘취업-취업’집단의 세 집단으로 나누었다. 집단과 성별에 따라서 1차 시점의 GHQ_우울․불안이 달라졌다. 구체적으로 여성의 경우에는 집단에 따라 1차 시점의 GHQ_우울․불안이 다르지 않아서 선택가설이 기각되었다. 반면에 남성의 경우에는 미취업-미취업 집단보다 미취업-취업 및 취업-취업 집단에서 1차 시점의 GHQ_우울․불안이 더 낮아서 선택가설이 지지되었다. 세 시점별로 GHQ 총점의 변화를 보면, 미취업-미취업 집단은 1차 시점과 2차 시점보다 3차 시점에서 GHQ 총점이 더 높아졌다. 미취업-취업 집단에서는 1차 시점에 비해서 3차 시점에서 GHQ 총점이 더 낮았으며, 취업-취업 집단에서는 1차 시점에 비해서 2차 시점에서 GHQ 총점이 낮지만, 3차 시점에서는 2차 시점보다 GHQ 총점이 더 높아졌다. 1차 시점의 GHQ 총점을 공변인으로 하고 세 집단이 3차 시점의 GHQ 총점에서 차이를 보이는지 알아본 결과에서도 미취업-미취업 집단은 미취업-취업 집단 및 취업-취업 집단보다 GHQ 총점이 더 높았다. 이러한 시점별 변화는 노출가설을 지지하는 것으로 해석되었다. 본 연구의 시사점과 제한점 및 장래 연구의 과제가 논의되었다.

Keywords

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