Psychological distress in australian case managers working with the unemployed

Abstract

This study reports levels of psychological distress found in a sample of Australian case managers who work with the unemployed. Using a longitudinal survey methodology, 86 case managers employed throughout Australia completed the 12‐item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ‐12; D. P. Goldberg, 1978) on 2 occasions during 1999. In comparison with other studies investigating psychological well‐being of both employed and unemployed individuals, case manager respondents in this study reported significantly higher levels of psychological morbidity than levels reported for employed Australians and similar morbidity levels to those reported by unemployed Australians. Skills training seemed to moderate psychological distress levels reported by female case managers.