Abstract
Unemployment raised the odds of having a psychiatric disorder by a factor of six in this sample of 401 young single people. The effect of unemployment was borne by men and women equally, since the difference between the sexes was preserved in the proportion who had a psychiatric disorder. Those particularly at risk for psychiatric disorder were men who were dismissed, who could not borrow money readily, and who had large debts. Women at high risk were those who resigned, and who could not borrow money readily.