Mental Health of Recently Graduated Unemployed People: Intersectionality as an Analytical Perspective

Abstract

Mental health and unemployment are experiences based on the interconnection of different social determinants. This study analyzed protective and risk indicators for the mental health of unemployed people who recently graduated considering the intersectionality of gender, race, and income. The study involved 148 recently graduated unemployed people organized into eight interconnected groups, and most participants belonged to the group of low-income white women. Taken together, the mental health indicators suggest good mental health conditions. Black/brown women and white men with low-incomes had the best indicators for resilience and self-esteem, respectively. With regard to risk factors, depression and stress scores were higher in the middle-income black/brown recent graduate groups, and anxiety symptoms were higher in the low-income white group. The results are discussed using intersectionality as an analytical perspective.

Keywords

• mental health
• unemployment
• intersectionality
• recent graduates