The correlates of psychological health among the Turkish unemployed: Psychological burden of financial help during unemployment

The purpose of this study is to examine the major determinants of psychological health during unemployment. With this in mind, 438 (17% female and 83% male) unemployed individuals were contacted through Turkey's State Employment Office. It was expected that the relationship between duration of unemployment and psychological wellbeing would be nonlinear. Additionally it was hypothesized that perceived social support would moderate the relationship between length of unemployment and psychological health. Further, we suggested that self‐esteem would be related to psychological health and moderate the relationship between length of unemployment and psychological health. The results supported the curvilinearity hypothesis of the relationship between unemployment duration and psychological health as measured by General Health Questionnaire. However, social support was not found to moderate the relationship between unemployment duration and psychological health. The hypothesis that self‐esteem would moderate the relationship between length of unemployment and psychological distress was not supported, although self‐esteem was a strong negative determinant of psychological distress during unemployment. Regression analysis showed that the best predictors of psychological health were self‐esteem, perceived social support and perceived adequacy of financial aid received from relatives. Interestingly, perceived adequacy of the financial aid was negatively related to psychological health. This result was contradictory with the previous literature pointing out that financial aid reduces the effects of poverty due to unemployment. The findings of this study are important since the relationship between unemployment duration and psychological health was nonlinear, indicating that relevant services should be especially careful to intervene to increase social support and self‐esteem during these critical times. The other results and limitations are discussed.     

Golden parachutes: Changing the experience of unemployment for managers

We examined the effect of career transition support and three other situational variables — financial reserves, social inclusion, and a partner — on the psychological strain of unemployed managers. We extended the theories of unemployment by investigating the mechanisms by which these four situational variables affect psychological strain. After using qualitative research to explore managers' experiences during unemployment, we used the themes that emerged from this first study to conduct a survey on the unemployment experiences of 281 managers. Each of the situational variables protected unemployed managers from psychological strain through a different pathway. The pathways that emerged were agency, the emotions associated with loss, financial strain, and a positive emotional response. The research provides evidence of the utility of providing a ‘golden parachute’ and the additive effects of financial reserves and social inclusion. Evidence from the research also suggests that support programs for unemployed individuals should focus on enhancing agency and regulating emotions to assist with the transition into employment.     

Physical exercise and anxiety as moderators of the stress-illness relationship

This study examines the interplay of unemployment stress, trait anxiety and physical exercise in the development of physical health. Longitudinal data were taken from a sample of East German migrants (N = 330) who were confronted with the potentially stressful demand of finding a job in the Western society. Unemployment stress was found to exert a main effect on illness level. Trait anxiety was a moderator of the stress-illness relationship, but exercise was not. As indicated by a three-way interaction involving exercise, anxiety, and stress, exercise was most beneficial among high-anxious subjects who were not exposed to unemployment stress. Results of this study suggest that exercise may not buffer the deleterious effects of stressful situational conditions (unemployment), but may effectively mitigate the health-damaging consequences of lacking personal resources, such as high dispositional anxiety.     

Social ties: subgroup differences in costs and benefits

Social ties can be stressful as well as supportive. Are these opposing effects linked, and can they help explain subgroup differences in the efficacy of social support? These questions were applied to data on social support in response to stressful life events. The subjects were 314 women randomly chosen from the registration list of a neighborhood health center in Boston. The data were from the initial interviews of a larger study. The findings include the following: The mobilization of social support was associated with better psychological well-being for women with greater personal resources, but not for those with lower levels of personal resources. Women with lower levels of personal resources were more distressed by life events in the lives of their significant others, especially as the number of these events increased. The subgroup effects of interpersonal support and stress on psychological well-being were independent, separate effects. In sum, women with greater material and psychological resources derived more beneficial support and suffered less stress from their social ties.     

Effects of Recent and Past Stress on Mental Health: Coping with Unemployment Among Vietnam Veterans and Nonveterans1

To determine the additive as well as interactive effects of pre-war stresses (adolescence), Vietnam war stresses (combat experiences) and post-war stresses (job loss, other life events), interview data were collected from a sample of 486 males who were eligible for service during the Vietnam war era. Of these respondents, 297 had recently lost their job and thus became subjected to the stress of unemployment. Our findings, like those of others (Egendorf, Kadushin, Laufer, Rothbart, & Sloan, 1981; Boulanger, 1981), suggest that exposure to war produces long-lasting effects on emotional well-being. Similarly, stressful childhood and adolescence experiences also appear to be long-lasting. In contrast to the long-lasting effects of these past stresses, the harmful effects of unemployment on mental health are reversed when employment is regained. All of the past pre-war and war stresses, and the recent unemployment and other stressful life events that were investigated had independent, adverse, main effects on mental health. Social support and internal control orientation had independent, positive, main effects on mental health. Of the various recent and past stresses, only the recent ones, unemployment and later unpleasant life events, had an additional exacerbating (interactive) effect on mental health.     

Stages in the psychological response to unemployment: A (dis)integrative review

There are widespread assertions in the literature on the psychological effects of unemployment that the response to job loss takes the form of qualitatively distinct stages or phases. This review gives an exposition of the main stage accounts, suggests reasons why such accounts appear compelling, and reveals what is entailed by the decision to hold such an account. When this is made clear the empirical evidence for a stage-by-stage account of unemployment experience is seen to be ambivalent at best. Most evidence is seriously flawed. Stage accounts are further criticized for inconsistency, internal contradictions, nonspecificity of domain, overindividualism, and restrictive ethnocentricity. It is suggested that evidence apparently supportive of stage accounts may be partly artifactual. Stage accounts are not recommended.     

Predictors of post-traumatic stress symptoms following occupational accidents: A longitudinal study

Objective: Occupational accidents are highly stressful events that frequently occur and impact both the physical and mental health of workers. The aim of this study was to longitudinally assess a predictive model of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in workers who have suffered a recent accident. Method: Two hundred and forty-four workers (77.8% men), aged 18 to 73 years, who had experienced an accident during the last month that resulted in hospitalization and/or ten or more days of sick leave, were surveyed. A second survey was carried out six months later. Regression analyses included psychological predictors (i.e. subjective severity of event, brooding and positive and negative religious coping), along with objective predictors (i.e. hospitalization, sick leave days and unemployment). Results: It was found that the main predictors of PTSS were brooding, negative religious coping, days of sick leave and unemployment, with a large effect size (R²?=?.45). Conclusions: The discussion is based on the usefulness of including selected psychological and objective predictors for detecting people more susceptible to developing psychopathology due to the stress following an accident. Identifying at-risk people for developing PTSS after an accident may help to introduce selective preventive strategies or early interventions in this population.     

Understanding the Effects of Unemployment in Indian Graduates: Psychological,Financial and Social Perspectives

The present research attempts to examine the psychological impact of unemployment and understand the individual experiences of unemployed Indian graduates. It seeks to address three possible effects of unemployment, which are psychological, financial and social, along with a necessary scrutiny on how these individuals cope with their present unemployed situation. A qualitative analysis method has been employed to investigate the research objectives through employment of a semi-structured interview schedule among graduates in the age group of 21–23 years. The research findings suggest that unemployed graduates are psychologically impacted and sometimes experience feeling of worthlessness, social embarrassment and high level of stress. Some individuals also reported a lack of motivation and meaning in their life. Although, a majority of the participants agreed to have a decline in their psychological well-being, not all share the similar experiences of unhappiness and worthlessness owing to their unemployment. Therefore, this research also hopes to underline differences in the individual experiences due to unemployment.     

Unemployed and exhausted? Job-search fatigue and reemployment quality

Job loss and job search are particularly devastating and stressful events that individuals can experience in their careers. However, less research attention has been paid to fatigue or burnout in the context of unemployment and job search. Drawing from Conservation of Resources theory, this study highlights the role that fatigue plays during unemployment and job search among displaced employees — defined as individuals who have lost their jobs involuntarily and are currently not engaged in any form of paid employment. In a two-wave longitudinal study involving 89 displaced employees, we illustrate how financial difficulties and social exclusion can lead to job search fatigue, while psychological capital serves as a personal resource that reduces job seekers' fatigue. We also demonstrate how job search fatigue at Time 1 can lead to lower reemployment quality at Time 2, which, in turn, can lead to lower organizational commitment and increased turnover intentions. Our findings bring into attention the important role that fatigue can play in the context of unemployment and job search.     

Optimism and Coping with Unemployment among Hong Kong Chinese Women

The effects of dispositional optimism and coping on the link between unemployment and psychological health were studied among 79 employed and 104 unemployed Hong Kong Chinese women. Results indicated that optimism, indexed by the Chinese version of the Revised Life Orientation Test (C-RLOT), moderated the effect of unemployment on psychological health. The less optimistic women were more psychologically impaired by losing their jobs. Among the unemployed women, the more optimistic ones and those who were more able to distance themselves from job loss fared better. Nevertheless, coping did not mediate the connection between optimism and psychological outcomes. These findings suggest that optimism is an important personal resource for coping with unemployment in Hong Kong Chinese, but whether coping mediates the effects of optimism on psychological health or not depends on other contextual factors. Ways to ensure more reliable prediction regarding the connections between optimism, coping and psychological health in future research were discussed.     

The meaning of work and employment: Psychological research and psychologists' values

Structural change and its implications for unemployment raise questions about the meaning of work to individuals in our society. This paper examines the status of psychological research on this topic by reviewing four areas of research job satisfaction, effects of unemployment, adult development and the cultural significance of work and employment. The conclusions which can be drawn are limited by conceptual and methodological problems, but it seems that finding substitutes for opportunities for mastery in the work role is a central issue to be addressed in a transition to a low-employment society. Some cautions about the values brought to bear on research in this area are sounded.     

Response Expectancies and Irrational Beliefs Predict Exam-Related Distress

Individual differences in cognitive factors such as response expectancies and irrational beliefs (IBs) have been shown to contribute to variability in distress associated with stressful situations. However, their independent influence on distress when examined within the same study has not been established, nor has the potential of mediational relationships. The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of response expectancies and IBs (both general and exam-specific) to exam-related distress in a prospective study. Results revealed that both response expectancies and general IBs separately predicted exam-related distress (p’s<.05; N=105). Observed effects of general IBs were perfectly mediated by, and observed effects of exam-specific IBs were partially mediated by, response expectancies using the Baron and Kenny approach. These data support the view that cognitive factors contribute to psychological distress and are consistent with response expectancy and rational emotive behavior theories. The results suggest that interventions focused on response expectancies and IBs might be an effective means to reduce psychological distress associated with real life stressors such as exams. Future research is needed to determine whether this effect generalizes to other stressful situations. Dr. Montgomery is Director of the Integrative Behavioral Medicine Program at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. David is an associate professor at Babes-Bolyai University, in Romania. Dr. DiLorenzo is an assistant professor in the Psychology Department of Stern College. Dr. Schnur is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Oncological Sciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. This work was supported by the National Cancer Institute (CA81137) and the American Cancer Society (PF-05-098-01-CPPB).     

Attachment to God,Images of God,and Psychological Distress in a Nationwide Sample of Presbyterians

Drawing broadly on insights from attachment theory, the present study outlines a series of theoretical arguments linking styles of attachment to God, perceptions of the nature of God (i.e., God imagery), and stressful life events with psychological distress. Main effects and potential stress-moderator effects are then evaluated using data from a nationwide sample of elders and rank-and-file members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Key findings indicate that secure attachment to God is inversely associated with distress, whereas both anxious attachment to God and stressful life events are positively related to distress. Once variations in patterns of attachment to God are controlled, there are no net effects of God imagery on levels of distress. There is only modest support for the hypothesis that God images moderate the effects of stressful life events on psychological distress, but no stress-moderator effects were found for attachment to God. Study limitations are identified, and findings are discussed in terms of their implications for religion-health research, as well as recent extensions of attachment theory.     

Self-categorization,coping and psychological health among unemployed mid-career executives

The role of self-categorization as 'unemployed' in coping with unemployment was investigated in a sample of 148 males who had previously had a white collar career. Coping was considered in terms of psychological distress, locus of control, problem-solving style and perceived social support. Individuals who self-categorized as 'unemployed' exhibited greater psychological distress, as did those who had been previously unemployed, and those whose current unemployment extended more than one year. Self-categorization effects on social support, locus of control and problem-solving style were observed as a function of previous experience of unemployment.     

The impact of the youth opportunities programme on young people's employment prospects and psychological weil-being

A study of 1978 and 1979 school-leavers in Leeds is reported. The results show that there is a significant improvement in employment prospects after participation in the Youth Opportunities Programme. Using Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire, a measure of probability of psychiatric disorder, it is shown that YOP acts as a buffer, alleviating the detrimental psychological effects of unemployment. This effect is only found during participation on YOP, and the detrimental psychological effects of unemployment return for those ex-trainees who are unemployed after YOP.     

Unemployment and mental health: A neglected relationship

This paper reviews aspects of the existing theoretical and data base relating to unemployment and mental health. The literature indicates that job loss has predictable effects on individual sense of well-being and, further, that the effects differ in particular populations related to variables such as age, gender, and occupational background. The literature also suggests that early intervention after unemployment is likely to be important in ameliorating the undesirable effects on psychological well-being. Finally, the paper chastises mental health policymakers, especially in the United States, for their failure to devote resources to encourage investigations into mental health implications for workers and the unemployed.     

Contemporary Perspectives on Stress Management: Medication,Meditation or Mitigation

Stressful life events can increase the risk for developing a variety of physical disorders and emotional problems. A biopsychosocial approach can help mental health professions to better understand and more effectively treat disorders that are related to severe negative life events. Biological approaches focus on suppressing emotional reactions, usually through a reliance on psychopharmacological interventions. Psychological approaches usually focus on the cognitive processes that translate stress into distress. Psychological interventions focus on changing the negative attitudes and maladaptive behaviors that aggravate most stressful situations. Social interventions focus on improving social support and involvement with agencies to confront limited finances, unemployment, and housing problems. In these times of economic crisis and severe financial hardship, psychological and social intervention strategies appear more useful than biological treatments.     

EXCESSIVE UNEMPLOYMENT CREATES EXCESSIVE SUFFERING AMONG BLACKS

Evidence suggests a causative relationship between excessive unemployment among blacks and subsequent costs that disproportionately afflict them. Costs that are generated by unemployment may be categorized as economic, social, and psychological. These costs are the result of poor employment opportunities. The purpose of this article is to review and illustrate some manifestations of disproportionate Negro unemployment.     

文化疏离感对汉区高校少数民族大学生幸福感的影响机制

为揭示文化疏离感与汉区高校少数民族大学生幸福感的关系,以及压力性生活事件的调节效应和基本心理需要的中介效应,采用文化疏离感量表、压力量表、基本心理需要量表和幸福感问卷对汉区高校少数民族大学生幸福感进行研究。结果显示:(1)文化疏离感会降低汉区高校少数民族大学生幸福感;(2)压力性生活事件对文化疏离感与汉区高校少数民族大学生幸福感的关系具有调节效应;(3)这一调节效应是以基本心理需要为中介变量。因此,文化疏离感对汉区高校少数民族大学生幸福感的影响是有中介的调节效应。