LATINAS WITHOUT WORK: Family, Occupational, and Economic Stress Following Unemployment

This study examines stressors in family, occupational, and economic domains among 114 Latinas following job loss. These women had been displaced from their jobs for at least 18 months at the time of the initial survey. Stressors from the occupational stress domain were the greatest source of stress for these women. Despite the passage of over 18 months since job loss, 75% of these women remained unemployed. Women who valued the job they lost and who were older reported the highest level of occupational stress. In the economic stress domain, Latinas with greater involvement in the mainstream U.S. economy and its obligations, who also had less seniority, and less disposable income, reported the greatest levels of stress. An imbalance between demands imposed by financial obligations and inadequate financial resources appeared to be a major factor in the stress levels experienced in the economic stress domain. Although the present study is limited by a small sample size, the findings challenge the myth of “benign stress” associated with female unemployment in general, and with Latina unemployment in particular.