We propose to continue the activities of the Michigan Prevention Research Center (MPRC) which will conduct preventive research focused on the mental health effects of employment and employment transitions. Our program will contribute to that broader goal by concentrating on six specific objectives: (1) to link the major University of Michigan institutions with expertise on the mental health impacts of work with state and local mental health agencies which have a mandate for development and dissemination of preventive interventions. (2) To develop methods for conducting epidemiologically oriented survey research on work and work transitions. (3) To design, implement, evaluate and disseminate preventive interventions focused on work and work transitions. (4) To extend our theoretical understanding and substantive knowledge of the relationships between the objective conditions of work, perceived stress, social support, coping, and more enduring health and mental health outcomes. (5) To provide epidemiologically oriented prevention research training that will produce scholars able to conduct rigorous prevention research programs in the future. (6) To disseminate knowledge developed in MPRC both to the mental health research and practitioner communities. We will conduct field experiments to test the effectiveness of programs designed to enhance individual coping capacity and to prevent deleterious health and mental health effects of work conditions in vulnerable populations. We will conduct prospective prevention field trials designed to enhance the social support and coping capacity of workers experiencing stresses in the workplace and to prevent negative health and mental health outcomes. We will link large scale epidemiologically oriented survey research to the design of preventive interventions focusing in particular on the role of productive work for older Americans. We will disseminate the results of our work widely to both practitioner and researcher audiences.
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