Social Structure, Self‐Conception and Well‐Being: An Examination of Four Models with Unemployed People

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Abstract
A cross‐sectional questionnaire design (n= 88) was used to investigate the relationship between social structure, self‐conception and well‐being. Distinctions were drawn between public and private self‐esteem and, within private self‐esteem, between self‐evaluation and self‐affection. Significantly poorer public and private self‐esteem scores were observed for unemployed subjects than for an employed control group. The predictions of four accounts of psychological well‐being/distress that draw upon these self‐concept dimensions were tested. Results supported symbolic interactionist and self‐discrepancy theory and, to a lesser extent, self‐enhancement theory. No support was found for a self‐verification theory approach. Implications of the study for social psychological research on the consequences of unemployment and for accounts of negative affect are outlined.