The nature of job termination and causal attribution for termination were examined for their association with psychological distress among a sample of working-class men in San Antonio, Texas who had recently become unemployed. Laid-off workers were found to experience significantly lower levels of distress than fired workers, largely because the former overwhelmingly defined job loss as a function of the economy. The fired typically attributed job loss to unfair treatment by employers, and they, like the laid off who made similar attributions, indicated significant distress. Psychological reactivity was by far the highest among fired and laid-off workers who reported having been unjustly terminated because of personal shortcomings or deficiencies. Contrary to conventional thought, job loss self-blame was not found to be associated with high levels of distress.
ABRAMSON, L. Y., SELIGMAN, M. E. P., & TEASDALE, L. D.Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1978, 87, 49-74.
2.
AFFLECK, G., TENNEN, H., URROWS, S., & HIGGINS, P.Neuroticism and the pain-mood relation in rheumatoid arthritis: Insights from a prospective daily study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1992, 60, 119-126.
3.
BAUMEISTER, R. F.A self-presentational view of social phenomena. Psychological Bulletin, 1982, 91, 3-26.
4.
BECK, A. T.Depression: Clinical, expeiiental4 and theoretical aspects. New York: Hoeber, 1967.
5.
BORGEN, W. A., & AMUNDSON, N. E.The dynamics of unemployment. Journal of Counseling and Development, 1987, 66, 180-184.
6.
BRENNER, S., & STARRIN, B.Unemployment and health in Sweden: Public issues and private troubles. Journal of Social Issues, 1988, 44, 125-140.
7.
BROCKNER, J.Scope of justice in the workplace: How survivors react to co-worker layoffs. Journal of Social Issues, 1990, 46, 95-106.
8.
BULMAN, R. J., & WORTMAN, C. B.Attributions of blame and coping in the "real world": Severe accident victims react to their lot. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1977, 35, 351-363.
9.
COBB, S., & KASL, S. V.Termination: The consequences of job loss. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Research, No. 76-1261, 1977.
10.
COHN, R. M.The effect of employment status change on self-attitudes. Social Psychology, 1978, 41, 81-93.
11.
DAVY, J. A., KINICKI, A. J., & SCHECK, C. L.Developing and testing a model of survivor responses to layoffs. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 1991, 38, 302-317.
12.
FEATHER, N. T.Unemployment and its psychological correlates: A study of depressive symptoms, self-esteem, Protestant Ethic values, attributional style, and apathy. Australian Journal of Psychology, 1982, 34, 309-323.
13.
FEATHER, N. T.Attitudes, values, and attributions: Explanations of unemployment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1985, 48, 876-889.
14.
FEATHER, N. T., & O'BRIEN, G. E.A longitudinal study of the effects of employment and unemployment on school-leavers. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 1986, 50, 121-144.
15.
FRYER, D., & PAYNE, R.Being unemployed: A review of the literature on the psychological experience of unemployment. In C. L. Cooper and I. Robertson (Eds.), International review of industrial and organizational psychology. Chichester: Wiley & Sons, 1986, pp. 235-278.
16.
GOFFMAN, E.The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Doubleday, 1959.
17.
GORDUS, J. P., JARLEY, P., & FERMAN, L. A.Plant closings and economic dislocation. Kalamazoo: Upjohn Institute, 1981.
18.
JAHODA, M.Current concepts of positive mental health. New York: Basic Books, 1958.
19.
JANOFF-BULMAN, R.Characterological versus behavioral self-blame: Inquiries into depression and rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1979, 37, 1798-1809.
20.
JANOFF-BULMAN, R., & LANG-GUNN, L.Coping with disease, crime, and accidents: The role of self-blame attributions. In L. Y. Abramson (Ed.), Social cognition and social psychology. New York: Guilford Press, 1988, pp. 116-147.
21.
KASL, S. V., & COBB, S.Some mental health consequences of plant closing and job loss. In L. A. Ferman and J. P. Gordus (Eds.), Mental health and the economy. Kalamazoo: Upjohn Institute, 1979, pp. 255-300.
22.
KAUFMAN, H. G.Professionals out of work: Coping with the stress of job loss and underemployment. New York: Wiley & Sons, 1982.
23.
KELVIN, P., & JARRETT, J. E.Unemployment: Its social psychological effects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
24.
KESSLER, R. C., HOUSE, J. S., & TURNER, J. B.Unemployment and health in a community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 1987, 28, 51-59.
25.
KESSLER, R. C., TURNER, J. B., & HOUSE, J. S.Effects of unemployment on health in a community survey: Main, modifying, and mediating effects. Journal of Social Issues, 1988, 44, 69-85.
26.
KIESELBACH, T., & SVENSSON, P. G.Health and social policy responses to unemployment in Europe. Journal of Social Issues, 1988, 44, 173-191.
27.
LEANA, C. R., & FELDMAN, D. C.Individual responses to job loss: Empirical findings from two field studies. Human Relations, 1990, 43, 1155-1181.
28.
LEANA, C. R., & FELDMAN, D. C.Coping with job loss: How individuals, organizations, and communities respond to layoffs. New York: Lexington Books, 1992.
29.
LIEM, R.The psychological costs of unemployment: A comparison of findings and definitions. Social Research, 1987, 54, 319-353.
30.
LINN, M. W., SANDIFER, R., & STEIN, S.Effects of unemployment on mental and physical health. American Journal of Public Health, 1985, 75, 502-506.
31.
MARK, M. M., & MELLOR, S.Effect of self-relevance of an event in hindsight bias: The foreseeability of a layoff. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1991, 76, 569-577.
32.
MILLER, D. T., & PORTER, C. A.Errors and biases in the attribution process. In L. Y. Abramson (Ed.), Social cognition and clinicalpsychology. New York: Guilford Press, 1988, pp. 3-29.
33.
PAYNE, R.A longitudinal study of the psychological well-being of unemployed men and the mediating effect of neuroticism. Human Relations, 1988, 41, 119-138.
34.
PAYNE, R., & HARTLEY, J.A test of a model for explaining the affective experience of unemployed men. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 1987, 60, 31-47.
35.
RADLOFF, L. S.The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1977, 1, 385-481.
36.
SNYDER, C. R., & HIGGINS, R. L.Excuses: Their effective role in the negotiation of reality. Psychological Bulletin, 1988, 104, 23-35.
37.
SPRECHER, S.The relationship between inequity and emotions in close relationships. Social Psychology Quarterly, 1986, 49, 309-321.
38.
SPRUIT, I. P., BAASTIAANSEN, J., VERKLEY, H., VAN NIEWENHUIJZEN, M. G., & STOLK, J.Experiencing unemployment, financial constraints, and health. Leiden: Institute of Social Medicine, 1985.
39.
STEINWEG, D. A.Implications of current research for counseling the unemployed. Journal of Employment Counseling, 1990, 27, 37-41.
TENNEN, H., AFFLECK, G., ALLEN, D. A., McGRADE, B. J., &8 RATZAN, S.Causal attributions and coping with insulin-dependent diabetes. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 1984, 5, 131-142.
42.
WALSTER, E., WALSTER, G. W., & BERSCHEID, E.Equity: Theory and research. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1978.
43.
WARR, P.Job loss, unemployment and psychological well-being. In V. L. Allen and E. van de Vliert (Eds.), Role transitions: Explorations and explanations. New York: Plenum Press, 1984, pp. 263-285.
44.
WARR, P.Work, unemployment, and mental health. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987.
45.
WARR, P., & JACKSON P.Factors influencing the psychological impact of prolonged unemployment and of re-employment. Psychological Medicine, 1985, 15, 795-807.
46.
WARR, P., JACKSON, P., & BANKS, M.Unemployment and mental health: Some British studies. Joumal of Social Issues, 1988, 44, 47-68.
47.
WATSON, D., & CLARK, L.Negative affectivity: The disposition to experience aversive emotional states. Psychological Bulletin, 1984, 96, 465-490.
48.
WEINER, B., RUSSELL, D., & LERMAN, D.Affective consequences of causal ascriptions. In J. H. Harvey, W. J. Ickes, and R. F. Kidd (Eds.), New directions in attribution research (Vol. 2). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1978, pp. 59-90.
49.
WINEFIELD, A. H., TIGGEMANN, M., & WINEFIELD, H. R.Unemployment distress, reasons for job loss, and causal attributions for unemployment in young people. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 1992, 65, 213-218.
50.
ZUNG, W. W. K.A rating instrument for anxiety disorders. Psychosomatics, 1971, 12, 371-379.
