NEGATIVE AFFECT IN EAST-GERMAN MIGRANTS - LONGITUDINAL EFFECTS OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL SUPPORT

Migrants have to deal with a number of stressors, among them tenacious job search and the constitution of a new social network. Prolonged un employment and lack of social support can result in enduring negative affect. A sample of 235 East Germans was investigated three times duri ng two years following their transition to West Berlin in 1989, after the breakdown of the communist system. Their anxiety and depression le vels were initially high but declined over time. The majority found a job during this time span and succeeded to adapt psychosocially. Those , however, who remained unemployed were worse off in terms of well-bei ng. The stress-affect relationship was moderated, however, by social s upport. Within the group of migrants who suffered from long-term joble ssness, social support exerted a longitudinal buffer effect. At Wave 3 , most anxiety and depression was reported by migrants who neither hel d a job nor received support. In a longitudinal causal model, the empl oyment status affected mainly negative affect complaints, but also soc ial support. The relationship between negative affect and support turn ed out to be reciprocal over time.