A test of the hopelessness theory of depression in unemployed young adults

Abstract

Recent research has failed to support the prediction based on hopelessness theory that hopelessness mediates the full relationship between attributional style for negative outcomes and depression. A re-examination of hopelessness theory, however, provides the hypothesis that a measure of hopelessness containing items directly relevant to an ongoing negative life-event will mediate the full relationship between attributional style for negative outcomes and depression. Hopelessness theory was extended with a second hypothesis that attributional style for positive outcomes is involved in the aetiology of depression and that hopelessness also mediates the full relationship between attributional style for positive outcomes and depression. The third hypothesis was that a series of "background variables' (e.g. age, sex) omitted in previous research would be implicated in the generation of depression. The three hypotheses were tested and supported with data collected from a sample of young unemployed adults. A further aspect of hopelessness theory overlooked in most research is an ability to account for reductions in depression associated with the cessation of a negative life-event and occurrence of a positive life-event. The hopelessness theory and the three hypotheses were again supported with data collected from individuals who were unemployed and others who had recently undergone the transition from unemployment to employment.

Generalized and event‐specific hopelessness: Salvaging the mediation hypothesis of the hopelessness theory

“…Although speculative, a more suitable evaluation of the mediation hypothesis would be provided by a measure of event-specific hopelessness which is more susceptible to influence by the negative life-event precipitating the depression and by other vulnerability factors. Research by Lynd-Stevenson (1995, 1996 with the unemployed provides preliminary support for the present formulation because when the BHS was reworded to include items applicable to the unemployed, the event-specific measure of hopelessness was found to mediate the full relationship between attributional style and depression. Lynd-Stevenson ( 1995, 1996 failed, however, to examine the mediation hypothesis for stress-depression relationships and did not evaluate the moderation hypothesis.…”

“…Research by Lynd-Stevenson (1995, 1996 with the unemployed provides preliminary support for the present formulation because when the BHS was reworded to include items applicable to the unemployed, the event-specific measure of hopelessness was found to mediate the full relationship between attributional style and depression. Lynd-Stevenson ( 1995, 1996 failed, however, to examine the mediation hypothesis for stress-depression relationships and did not evaluate the moderation hypothesis. An empirical finding contrary to the present formation, nevertheless, is a study by DeVellis & Blalock ( 1992) who reported that a measure of event-specific hopelessness provided evidence supporting the moderation hypothesis but not the mediation hypothesis.…”

“…The presence of significant covariations between error terms is not unusual when measuring attributional style (e.g. Hull & Mendolia, 1991;Lynd-Stevenson, 1995, 1996 and is probably due to the use of self-report questionnaires. As Parkes (1987, p. 33) points out, 'data obtained from self-report questionnaires are often .…”

A job-seeking self-efficacy scale for people with physical disabilities: Preliminary development and psychometric testing

“…These challenges have to 38 Julie Barlow et al be managed by the individual in all spheres of life, including employment. Given that unemployment itself is associated with increased vulnerability to depression and low self-esteem (MacKay Lynd-Stevenson, 1996;Sheeran et al, 1995;Vinokur et al, 1995), the combined impact of being unemployed and living with a disability warrants investigation. In this respect, pain and depression have been associated with instability of employment among people with rheumatoid arthritis (Fifield et al, 1992), with the fastest decline in employment occurring within the first 3 years of disease onset (Mau et al, 1996).…”

Getting Back to Work: Cognitive Behavioral Predictors of Depressive Symptoms and Job Search Success

“…Previous research has shown that a more optimistic attributional style, a construct closely related to cognitive vulnerability, has been related to less severe depressive symptoms among those who are unemployed (Lynd‐Stevenson, ; see also Winefield, Tiggemann, & Winefield, ; Bowman, ). In addition, negative attributional style predicted reduced likelihood of new employment in a sample of 62 unemployed men at a 3‐month follow‐up (Syzdek & Addis, ).…”