UNEMPLOYMENT
1. Background
- Unemployment has been studied since the 1900’s, both as an independent
variable (effects on attitudes, behaviours on the unemployed) and dependent variable
(effects of age, ethnicity, SES on becoming unemployed); Other related research
topics: times of high unemployment [“ordinary” individuals] and low unemployment
[“exceptional” individuals]
- Jahoda’s Work: If modern unemployment is LESS disturbing than previously (in
the 1930), one could conclude that it was due to standard of living in shaping the
experience. But if modern unemployment is as disturbing psychologically under
unquestionably better living conditions, economic desperation must count LESS in
explaining the experience. Thus, what about being work deprived is so unpleasant?
- The latent function of work (derived by Jahoda): work as a source of income,
source of activity, structures time; source of regularly shared experiences; source of
personal status and identity; source of experiencing creativity, mastery and sense of
purpose.
- Warr, 1987: not all jobs potentially provide the same level of need satisfaction.
Factors such as money, variety, goals, psychological threat, security, INTERPERSONAL
CONTACT (Future work??), valued social position can differentiate between ‘good jobs’
and ‘bad jobs’.
2. The mental and physical health of the unemployed
- Smith, 1985: a positive association between unemployment and a variety of
measures of ill physical and mental health. What is less clear is how that association
arises does unemployment itself cause a deterioration in health, or are the sick most
likely to become unemployed, or does unemployment lead to poverty, which is
associated with poor health, or are there other mediators in this relationship? (SES,
education etc). Platt found 156 relevant studies that consistently show that the
unemployed are over-represented among those who kill or deliberately infure
themselves, and that suicide and parasuicide rates are higher among the
unemployed. (HOWEVER, a causal relationship cannot be inferred). Jahoda’s
, hypotheses of what about work matters, besides the financial reward may shed light
on some of the mechanisms that explain the effect of unemployment.
- These relationships may be tested through:
*Archival Studies: Unemployment & suicide (positive correlation); Problems: reliability
of statistics; intervening variables
*Macro-Economic Studies: Model Testing: How economic changes: inflation, cost of
living, average income effects mental health admissions records
* Experimental/longitudinal studies: Following people – usually school leavers in and
out of work to see how their work status effects their morale-
- Paul & Moser,JVB (2009): META ANALYSIS of 237 cross-sectional and 87 longitudinal
studies. Average overall effect size =.54, with unemployed persons showing more
distress than employed persons. The average number of people with psychological
problems: 34% (unemployed) VS. 16% (employed); Moderator analyses demonstrated
that men and people with blue collar jobs were more distressed by unemployment
than women and people with white-collar jobs. Furthermore, the negative effect of
unemployment on mental health was stronger in countries with a weak lvl of
economic development, unequal income distributions or weak unemployment
protection systems compared to other countries.
- Kelvin (1981): The role of the self-concept & identity in unemployment: the
unemployed are defined by what they are not.: unemployed – those who lack
employment
- Feelings of being in a total institution;
- stigmatism, withdrawal, passing as ‘an other’. These profound consequences
of unemployment tend, at present, to be attributed to three main factors:
psychologically to the unemployed individual’s sense of being rejected, stigmatised;
economically to his limited resources, which restrict participation in social activities;
and environmentally to inadequate provision of opportunities for an active life, for
leisure. Removal of stigma, provision of a reasonable income, and good facilities for
leisure, will certainly ameliorate the problems of being unemployed. The problem of
lack of structure, however, will remain - at least for very many people. Thus the need
to work, and the work itself, provide a structure to life through specifying the time,
1. Background
- Unemployment has been studied since the 1900’s, both as an independent
variable (effects on attitudes, behaviours on the unemployed) and dependent variable
(effects of age, ethnicity, SES on becoming unemployed); Other related research
topics: times of high unemployment [“ordinary” individuals] and low unemployment
[“exceptional” individuals]
- Jahoda’s Work: If modern unemployment is LESS disturbing than previously (in
the 1930), one could conclude that it was due to standard of living in shaping the
experience. But if modern unemployment is as disturbing psychologically under
unquestionably better living conditions, economic desperation must count LESS in
explaining the experience. Thus, what about being work deprived is so unpleasant?
- The latent function of work (derived by Jahoda): work as a source of income,
source of activity, structures time; source of regularly shared experiences; source of
personal status and identity; source of experiencing creativity, mastery and sense of
purpose.
- Warr, 1987: not all jobs potentially provide the same level of need satisfaction.
Factors such as money, variety, goals, psychological threat, security, INTERPERSONAL
CONTACT (Future work??), valued social position can differentiate between ‘good jobs’
and ‘bad jobs’.
2. The mental and physical health of the unemployed
- Smith, 1985: a positive association between unemployment and a variety of
measures of ill physical and mental health. What is less clear is how that association
arises does unemployment itself cause a deterioration in health, or are the sick most
likely to become unemployed, or does unemployment lead to poverty, which is
associated with poor health, or are there other mediators in this relationship? (SES,
education etc). Platt found 156 relevant studies that consistently show that the
unemployed are over-represented among those who kill or deliberately infure
themselves, and that suicide and parasuicide rates are higher among the
unemployed. (HOWEVER, a causal relationship cannot be inferred). Jahoda’s
, hypotheses of what about work matters, besides the financial reward may shed light
on some of the mechanisms that explain the effect of unemployment.
- These relationships may be tested through:
*Archival Studies: Unemployment & suicide (positive correlation); Problems: reliability
of statistics; intervening variables
*Macro-Economic Studies: Model Testing: How economic changes: inflation, cost of
living, average income effects mental health admissions records
* Experimental/longitudinal studies: Following people – usually school leavers in and
out of work to see how their work status effects their morale-
- Paul & Moser,JVB (2009): META ANALYSIS of 237 cross-sectional and 87 longitudinal
studies. Average overall effect size =.54, with unemployed persons showing more
distress than employed persons. The average number of people with psychological
problems: 34% (unemployed) VS. 16% (employed); Moderator analyses demonstrated
that men and people with blue collar jobs were more distressed by unemployment
than women and people with white-collar jobs. Furthermore, the negative effect of
unemployment on mental health was stronger in countries with a weak lvl of
economic development, unequal income distributions or weak unemployment
protection systems compared to other countries.
- Kelvin (1981): The role of the self-concept & identity in unemployment: the
unemployed are defined by what they are not.: unemployed – those who lack
employment
- Feelings of being in a total institution;
- stigmatism, withdrawal, passing as ‘an other’. These profound consequences
of unemployment tend, at present, to be attributed to three main factors:
psychologically to the unemployed individual’s sense of being rejected, stigmatised;
economically to his limited resources, which restrict participation in social activities;
and environmentally to inadequate provision of opportunities for an active life, for
leisure. Removal of stigma, provision of a reasonable income, and good facilities for
leisure, will certainly ameliorate the problems of being unemployed. The problem of
lack of structure, however, will remain - at least for very many people. Thus the need
to work, and the work itself, provide a structure to life through specifying the time,
