Occupational attainment and depressive symptoms in young adulthood

Abstract

Past studies have shown that various aspects of occupational attainment (unemployment, job instability, low occupational status, and low earnings) are associated with poor mental health, but each of these studies focused on one or two aspects of occupational attainment. Consequently, it remains unclear whether their associations are independent of each other. Further, little is known about whether negative self‐assessments of occupational attainment are linked to poor mental health. We sought to overcome these limitations of past research while focusing on depressive symptoms as a mental health outcome and young adulthood as a life stage context. The study analysed U.S. data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 13,178) using ordinary least square models. The analysis showed that all aspects of occupational attainment were associated with depressive symptoms in the expected directions. Further, unemployment, job instability, and negative self‐assessment of career progress showed stronger associations, and those associations were independent of other occupational attainment variables. Overall, the results suggested that understanding the association between occupational attainment and mental health requires close attention to the life stage context.

Understanding stability and change in depressive symptom trajectories across young adulthood through the lens of career development: A mixed-methods study

“…Earlier studies emphasized the role of difficulties in occupational attainment in predicting greater mental health difficulties such as depression (Burgard et al, 2007). Furthermore, this association between occupational difficulties and depression tends to become more pronounced among young adults (Ueno & Krause, 2019). Success or failure in career pursuit during the transition to adulthood is crucial, as this can affect future occupational trajectories, determine one's course of life, and become an important part of self-identity (MacDonald, 2009).…”

“…Success or failure in career pursuit during the transition to adulthood is crucial, as this can affect future occupational trajectories, determine one's course of life, and become an important part of self-identity (MacDonald, 2009). Indeed, failure in occupational attainment, or employment in jobs not related to one's goals or aspirations, was found to associate with higher levels of depressive symptoms (Hardie, 2014;Ueno & Krause, 2019).…”

Perceived stress in adolescence and labour market participation in young adulthood - a prospective cohort study

“…An unstable attachment to the labour market among young adults is of rising concern due to its related negative social and health consequences as well as lack of sense of social identity [ 4 – 6 ]. Low labour market participation in early adulthood has been found to be associated with depressive symptoms independent of the type of participation (occupational status, employment status, job stability, earnings, and perceived career progress) [ 7 ], and if young adults are economically inactive, there is an increased risk of being economically inactive later in life [ 8 ]. Conversely, attachment to the labour market may improve future job prospects and prevent dependency on social benefits [ 8 ].…”

Who is coming through the door? A national survey of self‐reported problems among post‐secondary school students who have attended campus mental health services in Canada

“…Thus, addressing the mental health needs of post-secondary students offers a promising avenue for tackling the population burden of early-onset mental illness (Zivin et al, 2009). Furthermore, doing so may have far-reaching impact considering the significant effect that mental health disorders have on educational, economic and social outcomes (Cuijpers et al, 2019;Grøtan et al, 2019;Kerr & Capaldi, 2011;Ueno & Krause, 2020).…”