Introduction

Since the first studies on the psychosocial effects of unemployment were carried out in the 1930s (Jahoda et al, 1933; Eisenberg and Lazarsfeld, 1938), one of the most closely studied aspects of unemployment has been its influence on mental health. In general, research has shown that, while unemployment does not cause serious alterations in mental health, it is associated with reduced levels of psychological wellbeing. In the case of young people there are numerous studies showing that unemployment is associated with lower levels of general psychological wellbeing (Banks and Jackson, 1982; Álvaro, 1989), with a higher frequency of depressive feelings (Feather, 1982; Feather and Bond, 1983; Blanch, 1986), with an increase in anxiety symptoms (Donovan and Oddy, 1982; Banks and Ullah, 1987), with a lower degree of satisfaction with life (Breakwell, 1985) and with a reduction in self-esteem (Donovan and Oddy, 1982; Feather, 1982; Breakwell, 1985).

Obviously, unemployed young people do not constitute a homogeneous group, and a great deal of psychosocial research on the effects of unemployment has been aimed at identifying factors that might help to explain the variability in the response to unemployment. Among the factors most frequently used in explanations of the emotional impact of unemployment are duration of the period of unemployment, social support and the economic hardship experienced by the unemployed person. However, the analysis of these factors and of their relationship to the emotional impact of unemployment has largely ignored the social and cultural context of the unemployed person. In general, and with some exceptions (Jahoda, 1982/87; Kelvin and Jarret, 1985; Feather, 1990; Marsh and Álvaro, 1990; Hammer, 1999; Julkunen, 2002), psychosocial research on youth unemployment has ignored the fact that unemployment is a social problem, and that when analysing the response to unemployment it is necessary to bear in mind the context in which the person lives. However, it is evident that the experience of unemployment and the way in which an individual responds to such a situation depends to a large extent on the support offered by his or her society. that the experience of unemployment and the way in which an individual responds to such a situation depends to a large extent on the support offered by his or her society.