Effective Group Training Techniques in Job-Search Training Jukka Vuori Finnish Institute of Occupational Health Richard H. Price University of Michigan Pertti Mutanen Finnish Institute of Occupational Health Ira Malmberg-Heimonen University of Helsinki The aim was to examine the effects of group training techniques in job-search training on later reemployment and mental health. The participants were 278 unemployed workers in Finland in 71 job-search training groups. Five group-level dimensions of training were identified. The results of hierarchical linear modeling demonstrated that preparation for setbacks at the group level significantly predicted decreased psychological distress and decreased symptoms of depression at the half-year follow-up. Trainer skills at the group level significantly predicted decreased symptoms of depression and reemployment to stable jobs. Interaction analyses showed that preparation for setbacks at the group level predicted fewer symptoms of psychological distress and depression, and shared perceptions of skilled trainers at the group level predicted fewer symptoms of depression among those who had been at risk for depression. Keywords: group training, reemployment, mental health, trainer skills, inoculation Extensive research has demonstrated that there is a significant decline in mental health as a result of job loss and unemployment (Dooley, Catalano, & Wil- son, 1994; Fryer & Payne, 1986; Kessler, House, & Turner, 1987). Unemployment also contributes to many other harmful social and psychological out- comes (Catalano, 1991). At the same time, earlier research has shown that reemployment reduces psy- chological distress and symptoms of depression and that reemployment in a satisfactory job restores psy- chosocial functioning to previous levels (Kessler, Turner, & House, 1989; Leana & Feldman, 1995; Vuori & Vesalainen, 1999; Wanberg, 1995). Conse- quently, most programs for unemployed workers have been designed to promote reentry into the labor force. A variety of programs aim at promoting the reem- ployment of unemployed workers. Many of them are job-search programs focusing primarily on intensify- ing job-search efforts (e.g., Azrin, Flores, & Kaplan, 1975; Eden & Aviram, 1993) or focusing more broadly on enhancing job-search skills, preventing depressive symptoms related to unemployment, and facilitating transition into high-quality reemployment (e.g., Caplan, Vinokur, Price, & van Ryn, 1989). Some job-search programs have their origins in the counseling tradition and emphasize the participant’s career goals (e.g., Amundson, Borgen, & Westwood, 1990). Often job-search training is an adaptation of some program or a compiled mixture of many pro- grams or has no specific theoretical foundation. In previous studies, job-search training has generally shown positive effects on reemployment, quality of reemployment, and mental health (Dolton & O’Neill, 2002; Rife & Belcher, 1994; Vinokur, Price, & Schul, 1995; Vuori, Silvonen, Vinokur, & Price, 2002). However, little is known about the role that the applied training techniques play in these effects. An example of a theory-driven job-search program is the Michigan Prevention Research Center (MPRC) Job Search Program for recently unemployed work- ers. The MPRC program is designed to influence individual job-search self-efficacy and skills and pro- vide inoculation against setbacks, as its key ingredi- ents (Price & Vinokur, 1995). Two field experimental studies with randomized designs investigating the effects of the MPRC program have found significant increases in reemployment rates and significant de- creases in depressive symptoms both in the 6-month and in the 2-year follow-ups (Caplan et al., 1989; Jukka Vuori, Department of Psychology, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland; Richard H. Price, Department of Psychology and Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan; Pertti Mutanen, Depart- ment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health; Ira Malmberg-Heimonen, Swedish School of Social Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. Correspondence concerning this article should be ad- dressed to Jukka Vuori, Department of Psychology, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Topeliuksenkatu 41 a A, 00250, Helsinki, Finland. E-mail: jukka.vuori@ttl.fi Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 2005, Vol. 10, No. 3, 261–275 Copyright 2005 by the Educational Publishing Foundation 1076-8998/05/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/1076-8998.10.3.261 261