Selection into long-term unemployment and its psychological consequences

The factors which predict a person's long-term unemployment were studied wi thin the framework of an emotional and behavioural regulation model consist ing of two orthogonal dimensions: behavioural inhibition versus expression, and low versus high self-control of emotions (Pulkkinen, 1995, 1996). The participants were drawn from the ongoing Jyyaskyla Longitudinal Study of Pe rsonality and Social Development, in which the same individuals have been f ollowed up from age 8 (n = 369) to 36 (n = 311). In the present study, data collected at ages 8, 14, 27, and 36 were used. The findings showed that lo w self-control of emotions, especially aggression, at age 8 directly predic ted long-term unemployment in adulthood, whereas behavioural inhibition (pa ssive and anxious behaviour) predicted long-term unemployment indirectly (v ia poor educational attainment). Long-term unemployment in adulthood was re lated to an increased level of current psychological distress as measured b y the presence of depressive symptoms and anxiety. Thus, the present study confirmed both the hypothesis concerning selection into unemployment, and t he hypothesis concerning the psychological consequences of unemployment.