Hartz IV recipients more and more mentally ill

According to a study, recipients of Hartz IV benefits are more frequently affected by mental illness. Chronic suffering is also much more prevalent than in the case of working people.

10/31/2013

Not a few people who rely on Hartz IV are suffering from a mental illness. This is the result of a study by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) and the University of Halle-Wittenberg. One third of the unemployed II recipients would receive at least one diagnosis from the area of ​​mental illness within a year. Brisant: The proportion of those affected has risen sharply in recent years.

Evaluation of data of statutory insurance
For the evaluation the experts used the data of the legal pension insurance as well as the patient data of the health insurance companies. For example, in the anonymized insurance data of the Techniker Krankenkasse, it can be read that 21.8 percent of the employees were given a psychiatric diagnosis. For Hartz IV recipients, however, the proportion was significantly higher at 36.7 percent. Based on the AOK data, the researchers were able to see that the problem is getting bigger and bigger. In 2007, around 32.6 percent of those affected by Hartz IV were affected by mental health problems; in 2011 they were already 40.2 percent.

According to the study, many of the unemployed suffer from affective and neurotic disorders, depression and mental health problems. Because mentally ill patients would have even fewer opportunities in the labor market, there would have to be intensive support here. According to the board member of the Federal Employment Agency, Heinrich Alt, unemployment and psychiatric problems are not uncommon. These could be both cause and consequence of unemployment. Wolfgang Müller of the initiative "gegen-hartz.de" sees the reasons for the job centers as well. "Penalties for sanctions and cuts in benefits are causing problems for the people." Constant harassment and compelling low-wage work by the job center often leaves psychological traces ".

Federal Government also sees accumulation
In response to a small request from the group „Alliance 90 / The Greens“ The federal government announced that Hartz IV beneficiaries significantly „more likely to suffer from chronic diseases“. Also be the „Mental illness much more common than working people“. „Results based on data from the statutory health insurance funds and the representative health survey of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) indicate that chronic illnesses and health problems occur more often among the unemployed than in the workforce“, as stated in the response of the Federal Ministry of Health (Answer, Federal Government: 17/9860). Therefore, Hartz IV beneficiaries would also have a higher risk of premature death. (Sb)

Picture: CFalk