Introduction. Jahoda (1981) described unemployment as a negative event that deprives the individual of latent functions which are fulfilled by having a job. From a different perspective, Warr (1984, 2007) considers unemployment as a role transition, and the experience of this condition depends on the resources the individual can count on. Consistently with the Conservation of Resources Model (Hobfoll, 1989), individual’s Positivity, defined as a personal disposition to positively evaluating one’s self, past and future (Caprara et al., 2009), could play a role in moderating the relation between subjective Experience of Unemployment (EU, perceived either as a Loss or as a kind of role Transition) and the individual’s Perceived Competences to Find a Job (PCFJ). In the present study, we tested empirically this hypothesis. Participants. We gave a structured interview to 101 unemployed workers (51.5% female), aged 35 to 45, selected at a hiring hall in Rome, Italy, based on the ILO criteria for unemployment. Method. Measures of Positivity, EU and PCFJ were analysed through a Moderated Multiple Regression Model where statistical significance of regression parameters was established through a bootstrap procedure with 10,000 runs. Results. We found a significant interaction effect of EU and Positivity on PCFJ, controlling for gender, age and length of unemployment. Interestingly, when unemployment was perceived as a loss high levels of positivity ensured higher levels of perceived competences to find a job. Conclusions. Positivity should be considered in tailoring vocational guidance and counselling programmes aimed at enhancing perceived competences in finding a job as a way out of the unemployment, which nowadays affects increasing number of people around the world.
Theodorou, A., Violani, C., Alessandri, G. (2017). Seeing light at the end of the tunnel: The role of positivity in the relationship between experience of unemployment and perceived competences to find a job. Poster presentato al Congresso internazionale in onore di Gian Vittorio Caprara “Personalità: l’individuo nella società”, Roma, Italia.
Seeing light at the end of the tunnel: The role of positivity in the relationship between experience of unemployment and perceived competences to find a job. Poster presentato al Congresso internazionale in onore di Gian Vittorio Caprara “Personalità: l’individuo nella società”, Roma, Italia
Theodorou A;
2017-01-01
Abstract
Introduction. Jahoda (1981) described unemployment as a negative event that deprives the individual of latent functions which are fulfilled by having a job. From a different perspective, Warr (1984, 2007) considers unemployment as a role transition, and the experience of this condition depends on the resources the individual can count on. Consistently with the Conservation of Resources Model (Hobfoll, 1989), individual’s Positivity, defined as a personal disposition to positively evaluating one’s self, past and future (Caprara et al., 2009), could play a role in moderating the relation between subjective Experience of Unemployment (EU, perceived either as a Loss or as a kind of role Transition) and the individual’s Perceived Competences to Find a Job (PCFJ). In the present study, we tested empirically this hypothesis. Participants. We gave a structured interview to 101 unemployed workers (51.5% female), aged 35 to 45, selected at a hiring hall in Rome, Italy, based on the ILO criteria for unemployment. Method. Measures of Positivity, EU and PCFJ were analysed through a Moderated Multiple Regression Model where statistical significance of regression parameters was established through a bootstrap procedure with 10,000 runs. Results. We found a significant interaction effect of EU and Positivity on PCFJ, controlling for gender, age and length of unemployment. Interestingly, when unemployment was perceived as a loss high levels of positivity ensured higher levels of perceived competences to find a job. Conclusions. Positivity should be considered in tailoring vocational guidance and counselling programmes aimed at enhancing perceived competences in finding a job as a way out of the unemployment, which nowadays affects increasing number of people around the world.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
