Psychological Well-being during Unemployment. A Longitudinal Study

Journal of Social Research & Policy, Volume: 4, Issue: 2, pp. 93-105

Date: December 2013

ISSN: 2067-2640 (print), 2068-9861 (electronic)

Abstract: The investigation of the unemployment consequences is a challenging theme in current psychological research, but there is a surprising lack of data regarding the relationship between unemployment and well-being in Romania. We used the conceptual frame of the Hierarchical Model of Well-Being (Diener et al., 2003) and we aimed to investigate the evolution of psychological well-being components (life satisfaction, family satisfaction, balance affect, physical and mental health) in the case of an unemployed sample (N = 45) from 2007 to 2011, in three time points. The following instruments were used: The Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale (Pavot, Diener & Suh, 1998), The Family Satisfaction by Adjectives Scale (Barraca et al., 2000), The Depression-Happiness Scale (Joseph and Lewis, 1998), and The Health Survey Short Form (Ware, Kosinski & Keller, 1994). The results indicated a maximum level of past life satisfaction in T2, and a minimum level of future life satisfaction in T2. Physical health was perceived as better in T2, opposite to mental health. Overall, the study supports the homeostasis of well-being components. Among the research limits were the poor data collection about the reasons of unemployment, family structure, job search behaviors and economic status.

Keywords: Psychological Well-being; Unemployment; Health; Family Satisfaction.