Background
Methods
Study population
Dropout analysis and representativeness of the analytic sample
Ethics
Measures
Exposure to downsizing during the Great Recession
Depressive symptoms
Covariates
Statistical analysis
Results
Descriptive statistics and bivariate associations
Men | Women | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Characteristic | Displaced workers (N = 112) | Layoff survivors (N = 754) | No downsizing (N = 758) | *p value | Displaced workers (N = 84) | Layoff survivors (N = 708) | No downsizing (N = 1087) | *p value |
Age, years: mean ± SD | 50.5 ± 10.4 | 49.0 ± 9.8 | 50.3 ± 10.0 | 0.032 | 49.2 ± 11.2 | 49.2 ± 9.9 | 50.3 ± 9.8 | 0.074 |
Education | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||
Mandatory | 19 (17.0) | 83 (11.0) | 91 (12.0) | 17 (20.2) | 48 (6.8) | 60 (5.5) | ||
High school | 77 (68.7) | 460 (61.0) | 398 (52.5) | 49 (58.3) | 333 (47.0) | 517 (47.6) | ||
University | 16 (14.3) | 211 (28.0) | 269 (35.5) | 18 (21.4) | 327 (46.2) | 510 (46.9) | ||
Marital status | 0.088 | 0.003 | ||||||
Married/cohabiting | 56 (50.0) | 424 (56.2) | 454 (59.9) | 33 (39.3) | 380 (53.7) | 626 (57.6) | ||
Single | 56 (50.0) | 330 (43.8) | 304 (40.1) | 51 (60.7) | 328 (46.3) | 461 (42.4) | ||
Permanence of employment at baseline | <0.001 | 0.002 | ||||||
Permanent | 98 (87.5) | 718 (95.2) | 734 (96.8) | 72 (85.7) | 673 (95.1) | 1026 (94.4) | ||
Non-permanent | 14 (12.5) | 36 (4.8) | 24 (3.2) | 12 (14.3) | 35 (4.9) | 61 (5.6) | ||
Employment at follow-up | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||
Gainfully employed | 41 (36.6) | 742 (98.4) | 758 (100) | 41 (48.8) | 686 (96.9) | 1087 (100) | ||
Not gainfully employed | 71 (63.4) | 12 (1.6) | 0 (0.0) | 43 (51.2) | 22 (3.1) | 0 (0.0) | ||
Downsizing scale | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||
Minor (less than 8 %) | 30 (26.8) | 394 (52.2) | n.a. | 32 (38.1) | 465 (65.7) | n.a. | ||
Larger (≥8 %) | 82 (73.2) | 360 (47.8) | n.a. | 52 (61.9) | 243 (34.3) | n.a. | ||
Past redundancies | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||
Survived layoff or lost job | 36 (32.1) | 162 (21.5) | 41 (5.4) | 25 (29.8) | 146 (20.6) | 56 (5.1) | ||
No | 76 (67.9) | 592 (78.5) | 717 (94.6) | 59 (70.2) | 562 (79.4) | 1031 (94.9) | ||
Long-term sickness | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||
Yes | 5 (4.5) | 2 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (4.8) | 6 (0.9) | 2 (0.2) | ||
No | 107 (95.5) | 752 (99.7) | 758 (100) | 80 (95.2) | 702 (99.1) | 1085 (99.8) | ||
Depression at baseline | 0.009 | 0.004 | ||||||
No depression (score <10) | 82 (73.2) | 616 (81.7) | 649 (85.6) | 54 (64.3) | 527 (74.4) | 856 (78.7) | ||
Depression symptoms (score 10–16) | 23 (20.5) | 115 (15.2) | 91 (12.0) | 19 (22.6) | 135 (19.1) | 177 (16.3) | ||
Major depression (score 17–24) | 7 (6.3) | 23 (3.1) | 18 (2.4) | 11 (13.1) | 46 (6.5) | 54 (5.0) | ||
Depression at follow-up | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||
No depression (score <10) | 83 (74.1) | 633 (84.0) | 676 (89.2) | 54 (64.3) | 526 (74.3) | 880 (81.0) | ||
Depression symptoms (score 10–16) | 18 (16.1) | 99 (13.1) | 64 (8.4) | 20 (23.8) | 129 (18.2) | 152 (14.0) | ||
Major depression (score 17–24) | 11 (9.8) | 22 (2.9) | 18 (2.4) | 10 (11.9) | 53 (7.5) | 55 (5.0) |
Social causation: exposure to downsizing as a risk factor for subsequent depression
Depressive symptoms at follow-up (score 10–16) | Major depression at follow-up (score 17–24) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Both sexes (N = 3503) | No (Cases) | RRR (95 % CI) | p value | No (Cases) | RRR (95 % CI) | p value |
Baseline depression scores 0–9 (no depression) | ||||||
Employees, no downsizing | 1505 (115) | 1 (ref.) | 1505 (26) | 1 (ref.) | ||
Downsizing survivors | 1143 (114) | 1.35 (1.08 to 1.69) | 0.007 | 1143 (24) | 1.36 (0.94 to 1.96) | 0.105 |
Downsizing, displaced workers | 136 (21) | 2.01 (1.16 to 3.50) | 0.013 | 136 (5) | 3.66 (1.65 to 8.08) | 0.001 |
Baseline depression scores 10–16 (depression symptoms) | ||||||
Employees, no downsizing | 268 (79) | 5.57 (4.44 to 7.00) | <0.001 | 268 (25) | 8.43 (5.72 to 12.42) | <0.001 |
Downsizing survivors | 250 (94) | 7.54 (5.49 to 10.36) | <0.001 | 250 (27) | 11.44 (6.71 to 19.51) | <0.001 |
Downsizing, displaced workers | 42 (10) | 11.23 (6.16 to 20.47) | <0.001 | 42 (10) | 30.82 (12.67 to 74.98) | <0.001 |
Baseline depression scores 17–24 (major depression) | ||||||
Employees, no downsizing | 72 (22) | 7.86 (5.21 to 11.85) | <0.001 | 72 (22) | 36.03 (22.35 to 58.08) | <0.001 |
Downsizing survivors | 69 (20) | 10.63 (6.66 to 16.97) | <0.001 | 69 (24) | 48.91 (26.67 to 89.68) | <0.001 |
Downsizing, displaced workers | 18 (7) | 15.83 (7.94 to 31.55) | <0.001 | 18 (6) | 131.731 (51.45 to 337.28) | <0.001 |
Men (N = 1624) | ||||||
Baseline depression scores 0–9 (no depression) | ||||||
Employees, no downsizing | 649 (37) | 1 (ref.) | 649 (7) | 1 (ref.) | ||
Downsizing survivors | 616 (49) | 1.42 (0.99 to 2.04) | 0.058 | 616 (7) | 1.05 (0.53 to 2.10) | 0.890 |
Downsizing, displaced workers | 82 (10) | 1.64 (0.66 to 4.12) | 0.290 | 82 (2) | 4.93 (1.23 to 19.69) | 0.024 |
Baseline depression scores 10–16 (depression symptoms) | ||||||
Employees, no downsizing | 91 (25) | 7.16 (5.00 to 10.26) | <0.001 | 91 (6) | 11.46 (5.76 to 22.82) | <0.001 |
Downsizing survivors | 115 (46) | 10.17 (6.11 to 16.91) | <0.001 | 115 (8) | 12.04 (4.62 to 31.39) | <0.001 |
Downsizing, displaced workers | 23 (5) | 11.76 (4.37 to 31.63) | <0.001 | 23 (8) | 56.46 (11.52 to 276.58) | <0.001 |
Baseline depression scores 17–24 (major depression) | ||||||
Employees, no downsizing | 18 (2) | 4.36 (1.95 to 9.76) | <0.001 | 18 (5) | 40.33 (16.44 to 98.92) | <0.001 |
Downsizing survivors | 23 (4) | 6.19 (2.56 to 14.95) | <0.001 | 23 (7) | 42.35 (13.72 to 130.71) | <0.001 |
Downsizing, displaced workers | 7 (3) | 7.16 (2.10 to 24.39) | 0.002 | 7 (1) | 198.65 (34.61 to 1140.11) | <0.001 |
Women (N = 1879) | ||||||
Baseline depression scores 0–9 (no depression) | ||||||
Employees, no downsizing | 856 (78) | 1 (ref.) | 856 (19) | 1 (ref.) | ||
Downsizing survivors | 527 (65) | 1.32 (1.00 to 1.76) | 0.052 | 527 (17) | 1.59 (1.02 to 2.46) | 0.039 |
Downsizing, displaced workers | 54 (11) | 2.12 (1.03 to 4.34) | 0.041 | 54 (3) | 3.17 (1.16 to 8.70) | 0.025 |
Baseline depression scores 10–16 (depression symptoms) | ||||||
Employees, no downsizing | 177 (54) | 4.69 (3.49 to 6.29) | <0.001 | 177 (19) | 7.02 (4.38 to 11.27) | <0.001 |
Downsizing survivors | 135 (48) | 6.20 (4.12 to 9.33) | <0.001 | 135 (19) | 11.14 (5.82 to 21.30) | <0.001 |
Downsizing, displaced workers | 19 (5) | 9.92 (4.56 to 21.60) | <0.001 | 19 (2) | 22.28 (7.29 to 68.13) | <0.001 |
Baseline depression scores 17–24 (major depression) | ||||||
Employees, no downsizing | 54 (20) | 9.90 (5.98 to 16.37) | <0.001 | 54 (17) | 39.04 (21.81 to 69.89) | <0.001 |
Downsizing survivors | 46 (16) | 13.10 (7.33 to 23.40) | <0.001 | 46 (17) | 61.91 (29.52 to 129.82) | <0.001 |
Downsizing, displaced workers | 11 (4) | 20.96 (8.75 to 50.22) | <0.001 | 11 (5) | 123.85 (38.46 to 398.78) | <0.001 |
Health-related selection: pre-existing depression as a risk factor for subsequent job displacement due to organisational downsizing
Both sexes (N = 1658) | No (job displacement) | RRR (95 % CI) | p value |
---|---|---|---|
Level of depression at baseline: | |||
No depression (score <10) | 1279 (136) | 1 (ref.) | |
Depression symptoms (score 10–16) | 292 (42) | 1.32 (0.88 to 1.95) | 0.183 |
Major depression (score 17–24) | 87 (18) | 1.93 (1.05 to 3.55) | 0.035 |
Men (N = 866) | |||
Level of depression at baseline: | |||
No depression (score <10) | 698 (82) | 1 (ref.) | |
Depression symptoms (score 10–16) | 138 (23) | 1.41 (0.83 to 2.42) | 0.208 |
Major depression (score 17–24) | 30 (7) | 1.36 (0.47 to 3.93) | 0.568 |
Women (N = 792) | |||
Level of depression at baseline: | |||
No depression (score <10) | 581 (54) | 1 (ref.) | |
Depression symptoms (score 10–16) | 154 (19) | 1.23 (0.68 to 2.25) | 0.495 |
Major depression (score 17–24) | 57 (11) | 2.18 (1.01 to 4.69) | 0.046 |