Abstract

This study aims to assess the effect of stress management program for the unemployed individuals who visited Job Centers in Korea from 2010 to 2011. The authors provided counselling sessions to help the unemployed individuals to understand their stress level and to manage their stress especially related with the recent unemployment event and interpersonal problems, and to provide career counselling. We measured stress levels using the Modified Form of Stress Response Inventory (SRI-MF) and heart rate variability (HRV) to determine the effectiveness of the program. 6,804 unemployed individuals voluntarily participated in the program at twenty seven Job Centers nationwide. Results showed that the level of subjective stress levels were higher in women than men and were the highest in their twenties. Unemployed individuals recognized their stress levels higher when they attribute the cause of the unemployment event to the lack of their own ability than to the external causes. After completing the program, participants showed significantly lower SRI-MF scores (27.80±18.07 vs. 18.81±17.30) and higher score on the autonomic nervous system balance (13.62±20.05 vs. 19.75±23.23). The results suggest the clinical effectiveness of stress management programs aimed to the unemployed individuals. (Korean J Str Res 2011;19:315∼321)

• Keywords: Psychological stress, Unemployment, Counselling, Stress management