Unemployment Syndrome during COVID-19: A Comparison of Three Population Groups

Anna Bocchino, Ester Gilart, Inmaculada Cabrera Roman and Isabel Lepiani
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Anna Bocchino: Nursing University Salus Infirmorum of Cadiz, 11001 Cadiz, Spain
Ester Gilart: Lopez Cano Hospital of Cadiz, 11010 Cadiz, Spain
Inmaculada Cabrera Roman: Emergency Department Bahia de Cadiz, University of Cadiz, La Janda, 11001 Cadiz, Spain
Isabel Lepiani: Nursing University Salus Infirmorum of Cadiz, 11001 Cadiz, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-9

Abstract: Introduction: Of the serious problems that characterise the current crisis in Spain, the most alarming and revealing is unemployment, which, despite being so common, continues to be quite a negative experience for most people, often with serious negative effects on their biopsychosocial health. The perpetuation of this situation has given rise to a new syndrome of the unemployed. If these effects of economic downsizing are accompanied by the magnitude of the current situation brought about by COVID-19, the results can be devastating for the individuals and families experiencing it. Objective: To compare the symptoms of the unemployed syndrome in three population groups. Method: Three groups were studied: short-term unemployed ( n = 91), long-term unemployed ( n = 150), and those unemployed during the COVID-19 pandemic ( n = 94). Unemployment syndrome was assessed with the Unemployment Syndrome Scale (USS). The three population groups were contacted through web pages, social networks, etc. and answered the instruments online in a single session. Once the responses were obtained, their information was encoded in a database and analysed through the SPSS v. 21 program. Population groups were compared using the ANOVA analysis and the Bonferroni post hoc test. Results: The unemployed individuals who lost their job during the pandemic reported higher scores in the symptoms of the Unemployed Syndrome Scale compared to the long- and short-term unemployed individuals. ANOVA analyses for symptoms of USS were all significant in the different groups considering a significance level of <0.005. Participants who were unemployed for less than one year had lower scores in the USS than the long-term unemployed participants and those unemployed during the COVID-19 pandemic that reported a significantly higher number of symptoms in the USS.

Keywords: unemployed syndrome scale; COVID-19; symptoms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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