Labour Market Problems, and Psychological Well‐Being: A Panel Study of Canadian Youth in Transition From School to Work∗

∗ Revised version of a paper presented to the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, June 1992, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Financial assistance was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC), the Alberta and Ontario governments, the Solicitor General Canada, the cities of Edmonton and Toronto, the University of Alberta and Laurentian University. Useful suggestions from anonymous reviewers for this journal are gratefully acknowledged. Marianne Nielson and Ahmet Oncu served effectively as research assistants for part of this project Authors’ names are listed alphabetically.

Abstract

Four‐year panel survey data are used to examine the effects on psychological well‐being of unemployment, underemployment, educational satisfaction, and position in the transition from school to work among Canadian youth. Controlling on social support and baseline psychological status, labour market problems are found to have small, significant negative effects on feelings of self‐esteem, powerlessness, and depression among high school graduates, but not among university graduates. The effects of educational satisfaction and transition status are less clear.

∗ Revised version of a paper presented to the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, June 1992, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Financial assistance was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC), the Alberta and Ontario governments, the Solicitor General Canada, the cities of Edmonton and Toronto, the University of Alberta and Laurentian University. Useful suggestions from anonymous reviewers for this journal are gratefully acknowledged. Marianne Nielson and Ahmet Oncu served effectively as research assistants for part of this project Authors’ names are listed alphabetically.

Notes

∗ Revised version of a paper presented to the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, June 1992, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Financial assistance was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC), the Alberta and Ontario governments, the Solicitor General Canada, the cities of Edmonton and Toronto, the University of Alberta and Laurentian University. Useful suggestions from anonymous reviewers for this journal are gratefully acknowledged. Marianne Nielson and Ahmet Oncu served effectively as research assistants for part of this project Authors’ names are listed alphabetically.