Purpose
The everyday lives of unemployed people with mental health problems can be affected by multiple discrimination, but studies about double stigma—an overlap of identities and experiences of discrimination—in this group are lacking. We therefore studied multiple discrimination among unemployed people with mental health problems and its consequences for job- and help-seeking behaviors.
Methods
Everyday discrimination and attributions of discrimination to unemployment and/or to mental health problems were examined among 301 unemployed individuals with mental health problems. Job search self-efficacy, barriers to care, and perceived need for treatment were compared among four subgroups, depending on attributions of experienced discrimination to unemployment and to mental health problems (group i); neither to unemployment nor to mental health problems (group ii); mainly to unemployment (group iii); or mainly to mental health problems (group iv).
Results
In multiple regressions among all participants, higher levels of discrimination predicted reduced job search self-efficacy and higher barriers to care; and attributions of discrimination to unemployment were associated with increased barriers to care. In ANOVAs for subgroup comparisons, group i participants, who attributed discrimination to both unemployment and mental health problems, reported lower job search self-efficacy, more perceived stigma-related barriers to care and more need for treatment than group iii participants, as well as more stigma-related barriers to care than group iv.
Conclusions
Multiple discrimination may affect job search and help-seeking among unemployed individuals with mental health problems. Interventions to reduce public stigma and to improve coping with multiple discrimination for this group should be developed.