The Influence of IMF-related Economic Stress upon Mental Health

Yoo, Hee Jung; Hwang, Seong Hoon; Hong, Jin Pyo; Kim, Hun Soo; Lee, Chul; Han, Oh Su

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the influence of the so-called IMF-related economic stress upon the mental health and to analyze the process of the influence. As the possible variables moderating the stress process, social resource, problem solving style, and hopelessness were included. 221 male and female subjects were recruited according to the intensity of economic stress and classified into four groups(employees of solid companies, employees of the companies at risk, short-term unemployed and long-term unemployed). Relevant measures including economic stress scale, selected SCL-90R subscales(somatization, depression, hostility, anxiety), social support scale, problem-solving scale, and job hopelessness scale were administered. As assumed, it was proved that economic stress had adverse effects on the mental health. In addition to this basic causal relationship, moderating effects of several variables were found as follows: First, social support had the buffering effect upon the economic stress. That is, strong social support played the role suppressing the development of psychiatric symptoms under high stress. Second, men were more vulnerable to the adverse effects of economic stresses than women. Third, economic stresses had influence on the helplessness concerning the problem solving. However other problem solving strategies such as creative style, approach style, avoidance style, etc were proven to have no relationship with the economic stress. Fourth, in the analysis of unemployed group, it was found that hopelessness mediates the relationship between economic stress and mental health. In conclusion, the clinical implications of such findings in economic stress process were discussed and several limitations and the suggestions for future researches were also addressed.