Psychological Coping with Job Loss. Empirical Study to Contribute to the Development of Unemployed People

Yolanda Navarro-Abal, José Antonio Climent-Rodríguez, María José López-López and Juan Gómez-Salgado
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Yolanda Navarro-Abal: Department of Social, Developmental and Education Psychology, Faculty of Education Science, University of Huelva, 21071 Huelva, Spain
José Antonio Climent-Rodríguez: Department of Social, Developmental and Education Psychology, Faculty of Education Science, University of Huelva, 21071 Huelva, Spain
María José López-López: Department of Clinical and Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Education Science, University of Huelva, 21071 Huelva, Spain
Juan Gómez-Salgado: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, University of Huelva, 21071 Huelva, Spain

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-11

Abstract: Having a job is an essential part of people’s development. Unemployment, on the contrary, is one of the most frustrating experiences of life with greater psychological consequences for people’s lives. In this sense, psychology has contributed to an increase in knowledge about the personal and social experience of unemployment. This article discusses indicators of anxiety and depression in unemployed people, modulating socio-demographic variables, and coping strategies involved in the higher and lower levels of anxiety and depression. For this, a sample of 244 unemployed people who are users of the Career Service Centre of the Andalusian Public Employment Service of the city of Huelva is used for a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study. The results show that only 5.7% of the participants do not have depressive symptoms. With regards to anxiety levels, 41.3% of participants have no anxiety. Unemployed people with high anxiety and depression scores have developed maladaptive coping strategies such as substance use, self-blaming, or denial. It is necessary to assess the importance of the unemployment process and the incorporation of appropriate coping strategies that facilitate new integration in the labour market, such as planification, emotional or social support and self-distraction between others.

Keywords: unemployment; coping strategies; anxiety; depression; psychological development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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