Neighbourhood Poverty, Work Commitment and Unemployment in Early Adulthood

A Longitudinal Study into the Moderating Effect of Personality

Journal Article (2016)
Author(s)

Jaap Nieuwenhuis (TU Delft - OLD Urban Renewal and Housing)

Rongqin Yu (University of Oxford)

S Branje (Universiteit Utrecht)

W Meeus (Universiteit Utrecht)

P. Hooimeijer (Universiteit Utrecht)

DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0167830 Final published version
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Publication Year
2016
Language
English
Journal title
PLoS ONE
Issue number
12
Volume number
11
Article number
e0167830
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Abstract

We studied how personality moderates the effect of neighbourhood disadvantage on work commitment and unemployment in early adulthood. Using a personality typology of resilients, overcontrollers, and undercontrollers, we hypothesised that the association between neighbourhood poverty and both work commitment and unemployment would be stronger for overcontrollers and undercontrollers than for resilients. We used longitudinal data (N = 249) to test whether the length of exposure to neighbourhood poverty between age 16 and 21 predicts work commitment and unemployment at age 25. In line with our hypothesis, the findings showed that longer exposure was related to weaker work commitment among undercontrollers and overcontrollers and to higher unemployment among undercontrollers. Resilients’ work commitment and unemployment were not predicted by neighbourhood poverty.