Involvement with Prior Job, Social Support, and the Perceived Quality of Life Among the Unemployed.
Abstract
Forty-eight participants in a community program serving the unemployed completed a questionnaire measuring psychological involvement with prior job, current levels of social support from spouse and others, and four features of the perceived quality of live (pQL): Current pQL, Perceived Change, Need Fulfillment, and Hopefulness. The present sample scored significantly lower than national norms on five standard pQL items, thereby corroborating previous research suggesting that pQL suffers during periods of unemployment. Consistent with Hypothesis 1, the relationship between prior job involvement and pQL was significant and negative for three of the four pQL scales. This result, in conjunction with prior research, suggests that periods of unemployment holds for American samples as well as for British and Australian samples, and that it holds for measures of job-specific involvement as well as for measures of more general work involvement. Contrary to Hypothesis 2, the interactions between prior job involvement and current social support were not significant for any of the pQL measures, thereby failing to support either the buffering or coping models of social support. Discussion is focused on implications for future research and for programs serving the unemployed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA162102
Entities
People
- Barbara B. Bunker
- Mark A. Bonacci
- Robert W. Rice
Organizations
- University at Buffalo