The single most important change in the British labour market has been the re-emergence of mass unemployment. This study focuses on six areas of the country and investigates the effect of being unemployed on individuals' attitudes to work, their social relationships, and their psychological health.

The experience of convergence - a tale of six cities, Catherine Marsh, Carolyn Vogler; unemployment in work histories, Jonathan Gershuny, Catherine Marsh; unemployment and attitudes to work, Duncan Gallie, Carolyn Vogler; the relationship between a husband's unemployment and his wife's participation in the labour force, Richard Davies, Peter Elias, et al; the effects of labour market position, job insecurity, and unemployment on psychological health, Brendan Burchell; the psychological consequences of unemployment - an assessment of the Jahoda Thesis, Jonathan Gershuny; unemployment, the household, and social networks, Duncan Gallie, Jonathan Gershuny, et al; an examination of the relationship between marital dissolution and unemployment, Richard Lampard; labour market deprivation, welfare, and collectivism, Duncan Gallie, Carolyn Vogler; methodological appendix, Duncan Gallie; references; index.

`The Social Change and Economic Life Initiative was the most comprehensive investigation of the changing character of British society in the 1980s. The programme made important theoretical and methodological innovations in research on the interrelations of work, employment and the household. The SCELI findings are essential reading for all students of contemporary Britain. Their publication has been eagerly awaited and will be widely welcomed.' Professor Richard Brown, University of Durham

`The Social Change and Economic Life Initiative was the most comprehensive investigation of the changing character of British society in the 1980s. The programme made important theoretical and methodological innovations in research on the interrelations of work, employment and the household. The SCELI findings are essential reading for all students of contemporary Britain. Their publication has been eagerly awaited and will be widely welcomed.' Professor Richard Brown, University of Durham `essential reading for all those concerned about the experience of unemployment in contemporary Britain' Work, Employment and Society `The book is tightly organised, and the contributions of high quality ... the volume provides us with a systematic testing of previously tentative findings about the nature and experience of unemployment.' Social Policy `the papers shed considerable light on the effects of unemployment, providing much more firmly based evidence and sophisticated analysis than available hitherto in the sociological literature' Work, Employment and Society' `This is an important publication which should be read by all those involved in economic development, those interested in economic restructuring and by researchers anticipating research into unemployment.' Local Government Studies `A long overdue exploration of unemployment ... excellently executed.' Stephen McGarry, University of Plymouth `A long overdue exploration of unemployment ... excellently executed.' Stephen McGarry, University of Plymouth `This volume is an important contribution to a better understanding of the social consequences of unemployment ... a must for all social scientists interested in unemployment and its consequences for individuals, households and society.' Acta Sociologica

Duncan Gallie is a winner of the American Sociology Association's Sorokin Prize. He has taught at Essex and Warwick Universities and lives in Leamington Spa. Catherine Marsh taught at Cambridge University from 1981-1990 and was a Fellow of Newnham College. She was a consultant on sociological statistics to a number of institutions, including the Equal Opportunities Commission, BBC (`Brass Tacks'), the Open University, the Economic and Social Research Council, Cambridge City Council, the Brewers' Society, the News on Sunday, and the Manchester Centre for Exploitation of Science and Technology. She was an examiner for the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, and London, and taught at summer-schools at the universities of Manchester and Kent, and at the Central European University in Prague. She was the author of Hours of Work of Women and Men in Britain (HMSO, 1991) which attracted attention from all the national newspapers and other media. She died in 1993. Carolyn Vogler has held research posts at Nuffield College, Oxford and the University of Essex. She lives in New Barnet, Hartfordshire.