Psychological Health and Youth Unemployment in Rural Canada: A Case for ‘Generation X'?

Abstract

This paper reports findings on psychological well‐being among unemployed youth on the Great Northern peninsula of Newfoundland, an isolated and economically marginal region in Eastern Canada. Results show that while high levels of unemployment are not associated with alarming levels of psychological distress, variations in psychological well‐being are explained by coping strategies that involve employment commitment. These effects are shown to be mediated through a process involving dimensions of state policy, life course, regional labour market, and gender.