by Alan Jacques
alan@limerickpost.ie
UNEMPLOYED people in Limerick reported higher rates of distress and poor physical health complaints compared to employed participants in a study at UL.
Researchers at the University of Limerick have been conducting a new study that uses people’s spit to measure levels of stress associated with employment and unemployment. So far the research team have only looked at the survey data of 113 participants, 45 of who are unemployed, and are now starting lab analysis of saliva samples.
The preliminary findings indicate that unemployed people report higher rates of distress and poor physical health complaints compared to those who are employed.
The research team led by Dr Rachel Sumner and Dr Stephen Gallagher of UL’s Centre for Social Issues Research, are looking at how stress gets in to the body through examining stress hormones in saliva (Cortisol and DHEA).
According to Rachel Sumner, a postdoctoral researcher at UL’s Department of Psychology and The Laboratory for the Study of Anxiety, Stress, and Health (SASH Lab), the majority of participants on the study come from Limerick.
“Our survey results tell us that unemployed people reported higher rates of distress and poor physical health complaints compared to employed participants. This is particularly important as we only recruited people who were healthy (i.e. no long-term health complaints) and still able to work (i.e. not disabled or receiving incapacity benefit),” Dr Sumner told the Limerick Post.
“Looking further into the data, we found that – contrary to previous research – this relationship was the same for both men and women. We also found that individuals’ levels of distress seem to be the most important factor in their experiences of health complaints across the two groups.
The UL research team has completed their sample of permanent employees, but still need temporary employed people and unemployed people to take part in the study.
Participants that complete all parts of the study are being offered a €10 postal order as a small thank you for taking part. More details are available from www.sashlab.com.
