When Work is Missing: Generational and Gender Inequalities in Self-Rated Health. The role of social support

Abstract

Introduction: the impact of unemployment on health varies according to population characteristics. Older women are the most vulnerable group in terms of both unemployment and health. Furthermore, social support decreases with age which exacerbates feelings of loneliness and psychological distress. Objective: this paper aims to explore gender inequalities in the health of unemployed people as well as the impact of social support on the relationship between unemployment and health for different generations in Spain. Method: several multilevel logistic regression models were performed using data from the 2022 Spanish Living Conditions Survey, conducted by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics. Marginal effects were computed for the interactions between unemployment and both gender and social support. The sample comprised respondents who were in the labour force. The dependent variable was the self-rated health. Demographic, socioeconomic, and psychosocial covariates were used. All procedures were performed using Stata 15 version software. Results: there is a significant gender gap in self-rated health among unemployed individuals from the Baby Boomer Generation. Unemployed female baby boomers show a greater increase in the probability of reporting poor health than their male counterparts, whereas this is not the case for Generation X. Social support from family and friends has a protective effect on both generations, significantly reducing the average probability of reporting poor health. Conclusions: gender and generational inequalities in health highlight the need for social and labour measures to promote the employability of unemployed baby boomers, particularly women. Furthermore, social support must be strengthened given its role in mitigating the detrimental impact of unemployment on health.