Parents with unemployed children show more signs of depression than those with working children
A European-wide study published by the UAB Centre for Demographic Studies reveals that parents with children who are not working show more signs of depression than parents with working children, even when they no longer live together. In the case of Spain, the lower the education level of the parents, the greater the impact. The study analyses a total of 14,566 people aged 50 or older in 8 different European countries.
Having unemployed children has a greater effect on the mental health of southern and eastern European parents than on northern European parents.
Can the unemployment of adult children also affect the health of parents? The research “The Impact of Job Insecurity on the Depressive Symptoms of Parents” of the CED-UAB has investigated the topic and confirms that there is an effect on the health of parents. This is one of the first studies that quantifies the intergenerational effect of unemployment of younger generations on their parents, and not in the opposite direction, as is usual. The Spanish case is unique in that it has a high unemployment rate together with a prominent role of the family in the provision of welfare.
The study analysed a total of 14,566 people aged 50 and over from 8 European countries: Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Sweden, Denmark, Poland and the Czech Republic, representative of the major types of welfare states (Mediterranean, Continental, Nordic and Eastern Europe). The research is the result of a collaboration between the Centre for Demographic Studies at the UAB and the Centre for Demographic and Ageing Research (CEDAR) at the University of Umeä, Sweden.
One of the findings is that in all countries parents with unemployed children have more depressive symptoms than those with employed children, except in France, where no differences are observed. The most affected countries are Spain, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic, where the values of depressive symptoms exceed the clinical threshold of three symptoms, as indicated by studies on depression.
The results of the study - based on data from the 2022 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and a battery of questions on a total of 12 symptoms associated with depression - confirm that the impact is greater in countries with less protective welfare states, such as Spain, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic, in contrast to Sweden and Denmark. Although the overall employment rates are different in these countries (values ranging from 13% in Spain to 2.9% and 2.2% in Poland and the Czech Republic, respectively), what they have in common is that their respective welfare states offer less protection to the unemployed population, as well as assigning a subsidiary role to the family.
“This is due to the additional burden that parents may assume to help their unemployed children, a phenomenon especially relevant in countries with fewer support policies for people who are unemployed,” explain researchers Jordi Gumà Lao and Anna Baranowska-Rataj, authors of the CED-UAB study.
Differences in gender and education levels in Spain
In the analysis of impact in Spain, it is observed that mothers with unemployed children show a significant increase in depressive symptoms compared to fathers. This phenomenon is especially relevant because many mothers, who already bear an additional burden of domestic responsibilities, exceed the clinical threshold of depression. The impact is particularly marked in mothers with a lower educational level.
In contrast, the study points out that parents with a higher educational level do not show a significant relationship between children's unemployment and depression. For the researchers, this is probably due to “having more resources to reverse the negative consequences of unemployment”.
According to the authors of the study, parents with lower educational levels experience an increase in depressive symptoms of up to 23% compared to parents with employed children, since the precarious employment situation of their children implies a greater economic mismatch.
A new approach to studying mental health in older populations
This research opens up new avenues for the study of mental health in older populations, suggesting that the influence of younger generations should be integrated into studies of well-being and health inequality. For the authors of the study, “in the context of population ageing, intergenerational relationships may play a key role in understanding the social and psychological challenges faced by older people”.
This research forms part of the project "HEALFAM. The effects of unemployment on health of family members", funded by the European Research Council (ERC).
PERSPECTIVES DEMOGRÀFIQUES, January 2025: “The Impact of Job Insecurity on the Depressive Symptoms of Parents”, Jordi Gumà Lao and Anna Baranowska-Rataj.