Psycap and Amotivation to search for a job: the role of need frustration and family support

Abstract

This work analyses unemployed individuals’ psychological capital (Psycap), and the mediating and moderation developments through which this resource is related with amotivation to search for a job. We tested, in particular, whether need frustration of autonomy, relatedness and competence mediated the relationship between Psycap and amotivation, by using a questionnaire that was applied to a sample of 298 unemployed people. Additionally, we also tested whether individuals’ family support would moderate the negative relationship between Psycap and amotivation to search for a job, and if the strength of the hypothesized indirect effects were conditional on the perception of family support. Results revealed that the relationship between Psycap and amotivation was mediated by need frustration of relatedness and competence. Moreover, family support was confirmed to moderate the relationship between need frustration of competence and amotivation, such that the high levels of amotivation was found in individuals who demonstrated high levels of need frustration of competence and low family support. Ultimately, results have supported a conditional indirect and negative effect of the Psycap on forecasting amotivation through need frustration of competence when levels of family support were high, but not when the support was low. Overall, the results obtained show that need frustration of autonomy, relatedness and competence, and family support embody key elements in explaining how Psycap is associated with amotivation to search for a job.