Unsolicited job leads may negatively impact mental health

(HealthDay)—Unsolicited job leads can have a deleterious effect on mental health, according to a study published in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

Lijun Song, Ph.D., from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and Wenhong Chen, Ph.D., from the University of Texas in Austin, examined the impact of receipt of unsolicited job leads, and its interaction effects with economic strain (lack of full-time employment and the duration of lack of full-time employment) and financial dissatisfaction on depression. The study used nationally representative data from working-age U.S. adults.

The researchers found that the results were consistent with the distress-inducing perspective, with the receipt of unsolicited job leads having a positive role for depression. The role was contingent on economic strain and financial dissatisfaction.

"The findings indicate that the receipt of unsolicited job leads often plays a deleterious role for mental health but that the role varies according to the need for job leads," conclude the authors.