Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T06:15:04.008Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Core Self-Evaluations and Individual Strategies of Coping with Unemployment among Displaced Spanish Workers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2017

Tihana Virkes ,
Darja Maslić Seršić  and
Esther Lopez-Zafra
Tihana Virkes
Affiliation:
University of Zagreb (Croatia)
Darja Maslić Seršić
Affiliation:
University of Zagreb (Croatia)
Esther Lopez-Zafra*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Jaén (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Esther Lopez-Zafra. Professor of Social Psychology. Campus Las Lagunillas, s/n, Edif. C5, Office 121. 23071. Jaén (Spain). E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Unemployment has negative but also positive effects on mental health and general well-being depending on which coping strategies the individual use. Our aim was to determine the contribution of core self-evaluations in explaining the coping strategies of job search and job devaluation, as well as to test the potential moderation effect of job search and mediation effect of job devaluation on the relationship between self core-evaluations and both positive and negative experience of unemployment. One hundred seventy-eight individuals who lost their jobs involuntarily for a longer period than one month completed a questionnaire while attending to employment office. Results show that there is a significant relation between core-self evaluations and job devaluation (.37**). Furthermore, core-self evaluations were positively related to positive experience of unemployment (r = .31; p < .01) and negatively related to negative experience of unemployment (r = .60; p < .01). Moreover, self-core evaluations predicted both coping with unemployment strategies (job devaluation; β = .26; p < .01 and job search β = .19; p < .05). However, job search did not moderate the relationship between core self-evaluations and experience of unemployment. But, individuals with a longer duration of the current period of unemployment and higher core self-evaluations had a more positive experience of unemployment, and job devaluation partially mediated this relation (SE = .002; p = .038). These results imply that programs interventions should include the improvement of core self-evaluations and the positive experience of unemployed people.

Keywords

core self-evaluationsexperience of unemploymentjob devaluationjob searchstrategies of coping with unemployment
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 20 , 2017 , E59
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

This study was possible due to the official support obtained from the Regional Andalusian Employment Service. Special thanks to the Delegate Dña. Ana Cobo, D. José López Rozas and D. Alfonso Araque.

How to cite this article:

Virkes, T., Maslić Seršić, D. M., & Lopez-Zafra, E. (2017). Core self-evaluations and individual strategies of coping with unemployment among displaced spanish workers. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 20. e59. Doi:10.1017/sjp.2017.57

References

Álvaro, J. L., Guedes, S., Garrido, A., de Figueiredo, A., & Campos, M. (2012). Desempleo y bienestar psicológico en Brasil y España: Un estudio comparativo [Unemployment and psychological well-being in Brazil and Spain: A comparative study]. Revista Psicologia: Organizações e Trabalho, 12, 5–16.Google Scholar
Åslund, C., Starrin, B., & Nilsson, K. W. (2014). Psychosomatic symptoms and low psychological well-being in relation to employment status: The influence of social capital in a large cross-sectional study in Sweden. International Journal for Equity in Health, 13(1), 22.Google Scholar
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variabe distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.Google Scholar
Bauman, Z. (1998). Work, consumerism and the new poor. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Berrios, M. P., Extremera, N., & Nieto-Flores, M. P. (2016), Exploring the socio-emotional factors associated with subjective well-being in the unemployed. PeerJ, 4, e2506. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2506 Google Scholar
Blustein, D. L., Kozan, S., & Connors-Kellgren, A. (2013). Unemployment and underemployment: A narrative analysis about loss. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 82, 256–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2013.02.005 Google Scholar
Brand, J. E. (2015). The far-reaching impact of job loss and unemployment. Annual Review of Sociology, 41, 359–375. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-071913-043237 Google Scholar
Breuer, C. (2015). Unemployment and suicide mortality: Evidence from regional panel data in Europe. Health Economics, 24, 936–950. https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.3073 Google Scholar
Burda, M. C., & Hamermesh, D. S. (2010). Unemployment, market work and household production. Economics Letters, 107, 131–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2010.01.004 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, A., Knabe, A., & Ratzel, S. (2010). Boon or bane? O others’ unemployment, well-being and job insecurity. Labour Economics, 17, 52–61.Google Scholar
De Witte, H., Hooge, J., & Vanbelle, E. (2010). Do the long-term unemployed adapt to unemployment? Romanian Journal of Applied Psychology, 12(1), 8–14.Google Scholar
Dormann, C., Fay, D., Zapf, D., & Frese, M. (2006). A state-trait analysis of job satisfaction: On the effect of core self-evaluations. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 55(1), 27–51. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2006.00227.x Google Scholar
Eurostat (2016a). Unemployment rate – annual data. Retrieved from Eurostat website http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tipsun20&plugin=1 Google Scholar
Eurostat (2016b). Unemployment statistics at regional level. Retrieved from Eurostat website http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Unemployment_statistics_at_regional_level Google Scholar
Ferreira, J. A., Reitzle, M., Lee, B., Freitas, R. A., Santos, E. R., Alcoforado, L., & Vondracek, F. W. (2015). Configurations of unemployment, reemployment, and social well-being: A longitudinal study of unemployed individuals in Portugal. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 91, 54–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.09.004 Google Scholar
Ferris, D. L., Rosen, C. R., Johnson, R. E., Brown, D. J., Risavy, S. D., & Heller, D. (2011). Approach or avoidance (or both?): Integrating core self-evaluations within an approach/avoidance framework. Personnel Psychology, 64, 137–161. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2010.01204.x Google Scholar
Ferris, D. L., Johnson, R. E., Rosen, C. C., Đurđević, E., Chang, C. H. D., & Tan, J. A. (2013). When is success not satisfying? Integrating regulatory focus and approach/avoidance motivation theories to explain the relation between core self-evaluation and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98, 342–353. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029776 Google Scholar
Holtgraves, T. (2004). Social desirability and self-reports: Testing models of socially desirable responding. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 161–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167203259930 Google Scholar
International Test Comission (2005). International guidelines on test adaptation. Retrieved from Intestcom website www.intestcom.org Google Scholar
Judge, T. A., & Bono, J. E. (2001). Relationship of core self-evaluations traits-self-esteem generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability-with job satisfaction and job performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(1), 80–92. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.1.80 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Judge, T. A., Erez, A., Bono, J. E., & Thoresen, C. J. (2003). The core self-evaluations scales: Development of a measure. Personnel Psychology, 56, 303–331. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2003.tb00152.x Google Scholar
Judge, T. A., Locke, E. A., & Durham, C. C. (1997). The dispositional causes of job satisfaction: A core evaluations approach. Research in Organizational Behavior, 19, 151–188.Google Scholar
Judge, T. A., Van Vianen, A. E. M., & De Pater, I. E. (2004). Emotional stability, core self-evaluations and job outcomes: A review of the evidence and an agenda for future research. Human Performance, 17, 325–346. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327043hup1703_4 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D., Judge, T. A., & Scott, B. A. (2009). The role of core self-evaluations in the coping process. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(1), 177–195. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013214 Google Scholar
Kanfer, R., Wanberg, C. R., & Kantrowitz, T. M. (2001). Job search and employment: A personality-motivational analysis and meta-analytic review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 837–855. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.5.837 Google Scholar
Kinicki, A. J., & Latack, J. A. (1990). Explication of the construct of coping with involuntary job loss. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 36, 339–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-8791(90)90036-2 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kinicki, A. J., Prussia, R. E., & McKee-Ryan, F. M. (2000). A panel study of coping with involuntary job loss. Academy of Management Journal. 43, 90–100. https://doi.org/10.2307/1556388 Google Scholar
Latack, J. C. (1986). Coping with job stress: Measures and future directions for scale development. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 377–385. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.71.3.377 Google Scholar
Latack, J. C., Kinicki, A. J., Prussia, G. E. (1995). An integrative process model of coping with job loss. Academy of Management Review. 20, 311–342.Google Scholar
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Maslić, D., & Šavor, M. (2011). Konstrukcija upitnika suočavanja s gubitkom posla [Construction of a Job Loss Questionnaire]. Društvena Istraživanja Zagreb, 2, 495–515.Google Scholar
Maslić, D., & Šavor, M. (2012). Who will beat the crisis? Searching for factors that define successful coping with job loss among working people in Croatia. Problems of Psychology in the 21st Century, 2, 39–53.Google Scholar
McIntyre, K. P., Mattingly, B. A., Lewandowski, G. W. Jr., & Simpson, A. (2014). Workplace self-expansion: Implications for job satisfaction, commitment, self-concept clarity, and self-esteem among the employed and unemployed. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 36(1), 59–69. https://doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2013.856788 Google Scholar
McKee-Ryan, F., Song, Z., Wanberg, C. R., & Kinicki, A. J. (2005). Psychological and physical well-being during unemployment: A meta-analytic study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(1), 53–76. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.90.1.53 Google Scholar
Piqueras, R., Rodríguez, A., & Rueda, C. (2008). Expectancies and unemployment length. Revista de Psicología del Trabajo y de las Organizaciones, 24, 129–151.Google Scholar
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 36, 717–731. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206553 Google Scholar
Probst, T. M., & Jiang, L. (2016). Mitigating physiological responses to layoff threat: An experimental test of the efficacy of two coping interventions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13, 338. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13030338 Google Scholar
Rey, L., Extremera, N., & Peláez-Fernández, M. A. (2016). Linking social support to psychological distress in the unemployed: The moderating role of core self-evaluations. Social Indicators Research, 127(1), 435–445. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-0958-x Google Scholar
Solove, E., Fisher, G. G., & Kraiger, K. (2015). Coping with job loss and reemployment: A two-wave study. Journal of Business and Psychology, 30, 529–541. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-014-9380-7 Google Scholar
Song, Z., Uy, M. A., Zhang, S., & Shi, K. (2009). Daily job search and psychological distress: Evidence from China. Human Relations, 62, 1171–1197. https://doi.org//10.1177/0018726709334883 Google Scholar
Šverko, B., Galić, Z., Maslić, D., & Galešić, M. (2008a). Working in hidden economy: Latent benefits and psychological health. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 17, 301–314.Google Scholar
Šverko, B., Galić, Z., Maslić, D., & Galešić, M. (2008b). Unemployed people in search for a job: Does job-seeking behavior matters that much? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 72, 415–428.Google Scholar
Urbanos-Garrido, R. M., & Lopez-Valcarcel, B. G. (2015). The influence of the economic crisis on the association between unemployment and health: An empirical analysis for Spain. European Journal of Health Economy, 16, 175–184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-014-0563-y Google Scholar
Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., De Witte, S., De Witte, H., & Deci, E. L. (2004). The ’why’ and ’why not’ of job search behaviour: Their relation to searching, unemployment experience, and well-being. European Journal of Social Psychology, 34, 345–363. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.202 Google Scholar
Wanberg, C. R. (2012). The individual experience of unemployment. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 369–396. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-120710-100500 Google Scholar
Wanberg, C. R., Glomb, T. M., Song, Z., & Sorenson, S. (2005). Job-search persistence during unemployment: A 10-wave longitudinal study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 411–430. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.90.3.411 Google Scholar
Wanberg, C. R., Kanfer, R., Hamann, D. J., & Zhang, Z. (2016). Age and reemployment success after job loss: An integrative model and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 142, 400–426. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000019 Google Scholar
Wanberg, C. R., Kanfer, R., & Rutondo, M. (1999). Unemployed individuals: Motives, job-search competencies, and job-search constraints as predictors of job seeking and reemployment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 897–910. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.84.6.897 Google Scholar
Zhang, X., & Du, J. (2011). The influence of core self-evaluations on employee work attitude and job performance. Psychological Research, 4, 44–48.Google Scholar