IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v13y2016i8p797-d75557.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Quality of Life and Its Related Factors in Chinese Unemployed People: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaoshi Yang

    (Department of Social Medicine, School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang 110122, China)

  • Lutian Yao

    (Department of Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, China)

  • Hui Wu

    (Department of Social Medicine, School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang 110122, China)

  • Yang Wang

    (Department of Social Medicine, School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang 110122, China)

  • Li Liu

    (Department of Social Medicine, School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang 110122, China)

  • Jiana Wang

    (Department of Social Medicine, School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang 110122, China)

  • Lie Wang

    (Department of Social Medicine, School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang 110122, China)

Abstract

With the global economic crisis and industrial restructuring, the unemployed are suffering from job loss-related stress and loss of income, which is believed to impair their mental and physical health, while coping and self-efficacy could combat the adverse effects of unemployment on health. Thus, this study aims to describe quality of life (QOL) among unemployed Chinese people and explore the associated factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted by convenience sampling, composed of 1825 unemployed people, from January 2011 to September 2011. Questionnaires pertaining to demographic characteristics, the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), the abbreviated version of the Cope Inventory (Brief COPE) and self-efficacy scales were used to collect information from unemployed people in the eastern, central, and western regions of China. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to explore the related factors of QOL. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the relations among coping, self-efficacy, and QOL. Mental QOL was significantly lower than physical QOL in Chinese unemployed people. Coping had significant effects on both physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS), while self-efficacy played the mediating role in the association between Coping and QOL. Unemployed Chinese people’s mental QOL was disrupted more seriously than their physical QOL. An increase in coping could improve QOL by promoting better management of issues brought about by unemployment. In addition, self-efficacy has the ability to reduce the impact of unemployment on QOL, through the mediating path of coping on QOL. This study highlights the need of coping skills training and self-efficacy enhancement for better management of unemployment in order to improve QOL and well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaoshi Yang & Lutian Yao & Hui Wu & Yang Wang & Li Liu & Jiana Wang & Lie Wang, 2016. "Quality of Life and Its Related Factors in Chinese Unemployed People: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-14, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:13:y:2016:i:8:p:797-:d:75557
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/13/8/797/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/13/8/797/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Timothy J. Classen & Richard A. Dunn, 2012. "The effect of job loss and unemployment duration on suicide risk in the United States: a new look using mass‐layoffs and unemployment duration," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(3), pages 338-350, March.
    2. Winefield, Anthony H. & Tiggemann, Marika, 1990. "Length of unemployment and psychological distress: Longitudinal and cross-sectional data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 461-465, January.
    3. McLeod, C.B. & Lavis, J.N. & MacNab, Y.C. & Hertzman, C., 2012. "Unemployment and mortality: A comparative study of Germany and the United States," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 102(8), pages 1542-1550.
    4. Lars Kroll & Thomas Lampert, 2011. "Changing health inequalities in Germany from 1994 to 2008 between employed and unemployed adults," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 56(3), pages 329-339, June.
    5. Baum, Andrew & Fleming, Raymond & Reddy, Diane M., 1986. "Unemployment stress: Loss of control, reactance and learned helplessness," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 22(5), pages 509-516, January.
    6. Fergusson, David M. & John Horwood, L. & Woodward, Lianne J., 2001. "Unemployment and psychosocial adjustment in young adults: causation or selection?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 305-320, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Szymon Szemik & Małgorzata Kowalska & Halina Kulik, 2019. "Quality of Life and Health among People Living in an Industrial Area of Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-11, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Allison Milner & Andrew Page & Anthony D LaMontagne, 2013. "Long-Term Unemployment and Suicide: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(1), pages 1-6, January.
    2. Colombo, Emilio & Rotondi, Valentina & Stanca, Luca, 2018. "Macroeconomic conditions and health: Inspecting the transmission mechanism," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 29-37.
    3. Goldsmith, Arthur H. & Veum, Jonathan R. & Darity, William Jr., 2000. "Working hard for the money? Efficiency wages and worker effort," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 351-385, August.
    4. Ruri Okubo & Ryusuke Matsumoto & Eishi Motomura & Motohiro Okada, 2024. "Uncertainties of Economic Policy and Government Management Stability Played Important Roles in Increasing Suicides in Japan from 2009 to 2023," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(10), pages 1-18, October.
    5. Abdou, Rawayda & Cassells, Damien & Berrill, Jenny & Hanly, Jim, 2020. "An empirical investigation of the relationship between business performance and suicide in the US," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    6. Bonamore, Giorgio & Carmignani, Fabrizio & Colombo, Emilio, 2015. "Addressing the unemployment–mortality conundrum: Non-linearity is the answer," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 67-72.
    7. Tomoya Suzuki, 2016. "Cash benefits for poverty relief from the viewpoint of suicide prevention," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 6(3), pages 489-498, December.
    8. French, Michael T. & Gumus, Gulcin, 2021. "Death on the job: The Great Recession and work-related traffic fatalities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    9. Gibson, John & Heutel, Garth, 2023. "Pollution and labor market search externalities over the business cycle," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    10. Gregory Colman & Dhaval Dave, 2018. "Unemployment and Health Behaviors over the Business Cycle: A Longitudinal View," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(1), pages 93-120, July.
    11. Juliane Hennecke & Astrid Pape, 2022. "Suddenly a stay-at-home dad? Short- and long-term consequences of fathers’ job loss on time investment in the household," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 579-607, June.
    12. Mariya Melnychuk, 2012. "Mental health and economic conditions: how do economic fluctuations influence mental problems?," Working Papers. Serie AD 2012-08, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    13. D. Cooper & W. D. McCausland & I. Theodossiou, 2008. "Unemployed, uneducated and sick: the effects of socio‐economic status on health duration in the European Union," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 171(4), pages 939-952, October.
    14. Joaquina Palomar-Lever & Amparo Victorio-Estrada, 2014. "Determinants of Subjective Well-Being in Adolescent Children of Recipients of the Oportunidades Human Development Program in Mexico," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 118(1), pages 103-124, August.
    15. Michael Snipes & Timothy M. Cunha & David D. Hemley, 2011. "An empirical investigation into the relationship between changes in the business cycle and the incidence of suicide," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 38(5), pages 477-491, April.
    16. Andriy Yur’yev & Airi Värnik & Peeter Värnik & Merike Sisask & Lauri Leppik, 2012. "Employment status influences suicide mortality in Europe," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 58(1), pages 62-68, January.
    17. Chad Cotti & David Simon, 2018. "The Impact Of Stock Market Fluctuations On The Mental And Physical Well‐Being Of Children," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(2), pages 1007-1027, April.
    18. Gail Pacheco & Jessica Dye, 2013. "Estimating the Cost of Youth Disengagement in New Zealand," Working Papers 2013-04, Auckland University of Technology, Department of Economics.
    19. Goldsmith, Arthur H. & Veum, Jonathan R. & Darity, William Jr., 1995. "Are being unemployed and being out of the labor force distinct states?: A psychological approach," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 275-295, July.
    20. Matthew Lang & T. Clay McManus & Georg Schaur, 2019. "The effects of import competition on health in the local economy," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(1), pages 44-56, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:13:y:2016:i:8:p:797-:d:75557. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.