THE UNEMPLOYMENT BLUES: PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF UNEMPLOYMENT ON THE INDIVIDUAL

which was a special issue covering theoretical and practical aspects of unemployment. Views are those expressed by the author. The Centre for Social and Development Studies was established in 1988 through the merger of the Centre for Applied Social Science and the Development Studies Unit. The purpose of the centre is to focus university research in such a way as to make it relevant to the needs of the surrounding developing communities, to generate general awareness of development problems and to assist in aiding the process of appropriate development planning. ISBN NO: 1-874897-48-4 Unemployed persons typically experience a range of negative psychological symptoms, referred to summarily as the 'unemployment blues'. The paper reviews psychological theories of unemployment which seek to explain the origins of the blues and the role of personal control and social support systems in dissipating them. The vexing question of the interrelationship between psychological and economic deprivation is explored. Drawing on survey data collected during the period 1987-89 among over 1300 unemployed black South Africans resident in three metropolitan areas, the paper describes individual experiences of the blues and personal efforts to overcome them. It is observed that persons who feel confident of their self-worth and feel they have control over their lives are capable of sustaining morale during unemployment. However, society undermines self-confidence in subtle ways. It is demonstrated that persons out of jobs incorporate society's views of unemployment into their individual reactions to their situation. A case is made for removing the social stigma attached to unemployment and providing better social and economic support systems for jobless persons. The aim is to soften the negative psychological effects of unemployment with a view to absorbing persons out of jobs into society's mainstream