Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This paper presents a summary of some of the implications gleaned from a research project which investigated the psychological influences on the experience of unemployment. Drawing from deprivation theory and the stress and coping literature, the research project explored coping resources, cognitive appraisals, coping behaviours, mental health and re-employment. The results highlight the importance of considering a range of factors that could impact on the psychological wellbeing, job search behaviour and re-employment prospects for unemployed individuals. some of those factors include core self-evaluations, appraisals of deprivation or hardship, and activities that individuals pursue in their spare time. suggestions are made for intervention strategies that can be tailored to the specific need of the individual.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bandura

(1988). Self-conception of anxiety. Anxiety Research, 1, 77–98.

Blau

(1994). Testing a two-dimensional measure of job search behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 59, 288–312.

Creed

P. A.

Machin

M. A.

Hicks

R. E.

(1999). Improving mental health status and coping abilities for long-term unemployed youth using cognitive-behaviour therapy based training interventions. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20, 963–978.

Feather

N. T.

(1990). The psychological impact of unemployment. New York: Springer Verlag.

Folkman

Moskowitz

J. T.

(2000). Positive affect and the other side of coping. American Psychologist, 55, 647–654.

Fryer

(1986). Employment deprivation and personal agency during unemployment: A critical discussion of Jahoda's explanation of the psychological effects of unemployment. Social Behaviour, 1, 3–23.

Hoare

P. N.

(2007). The unemployment experience: Psychological factors influencing mental health, coping behaviours, and employment outcomes. Unpublished PhD, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba.

Hoare

P. N.

Machin

M. A.

(2006). Maintaining wellbeing during unemployment. Australian Journal of Career Development, 15 (1), 19–27.

Jacobson

N. S.

Gortner

E. T.

(2000). Can depression be de-medicalized in the 21st century: Scientific revolutions, counter-revolutions and the magnetic field of normal science. Behavior Research and Therapy, 38, 103–117.

10.

Jahoda

(1982). Employment and unemployment: A social-psychological analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

11.

Judge

T. A.

Erez

Bono

J. E.

Thoresen

C. J.

(2002). Are measures of self-esteem, neuroticism, locus of control, and generalized self-efficacy indicators of a common core construct? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 693–710.

12.

Kanfer

Hulin

(1985). Individual differences in successful job searches following lay-off. Personnel Psychology, 38, 835–847.

13.

Kuiper

N. A.

McKee

Shahe

S. K.

Olinger

J. L.

(2000). Social perceptions in psychiatric inpatients: Relation to positive and negative affect levels. Personality and Individual Differences, 29, 479–493.

14.

Lazarus

Folkman

(1984). Stress, Appraisal and Coping. New York: Springer.

15.

Lejuez

C. W.

Hopko

D. R.

Hopko

S. D.

(2001). A brief behavioral activation treatment for depression: Treatment manual. Behavior Modification, 25 (2), 255–286.

16.

Proudfoot

Guest

Carson

Dunn

Gray

(1997). Effect of cognitive-behavioural training on job-finding among long-term unemployed people. The Lancet, 350, 96–100.

17.

Wanberg

C. R.

Glomb

Song

Sorenson

(2005). Job-search persistence during unemployment: A ten wave longitudinal study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 411–430.

Some Implications of the Psychological Experience of Unemployment

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References