Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Effects of Psychiatric Disorders on Employment (Original Paper) (Report‪)‬

Introduction Recent studies indicate that psychiatric disorders are associated with adverse labor market outcomes including unemployment, reduced labor supply, absenteeism, disability-related work leaves, lower perceived workplace productivity, and reduced earnings (Chatterji et al. 2007; Alexandre and French 2001; Kessler and Frank 1997; Frank and Gertler 1991; Ettner et al. 1997; Berndt et al. 1998; Kouzis and Eaton 1994; Kessler et al. 1999). Frank and Gertler (1991), for example, report that mental distress is associated with a 21% reduction in earnings in their study of men in the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) study. Ettner et al. (1997), using the National Comorbidity Study (NCS), report that meeting diagnostic criteria for a psychiatric disorder in the past 12 months is associated with a reduction of about 11 percentage points in the probability of being employed for both men and women. Chatterji et al. (2007), based on the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), find that among Latinos, meeting diagnostic criteria for a disorder in the past 12 months reduces the likelihood of employment by about 11 percentage points for males, and by about 22 percentage points for females.