Social support as moderator of the stress on unemployed people's health

The aim of this research was to assess moderating role of two indexes of social support in the relationship between the length of unemployment and the physical and mental health of Venezuelan unemployed. Self-report measures were administered to a sample of 328 unemployed residents in Caracas, Venezuela. Results indicated that perceived social support acted as moderator in predicting better general health and lower somatization in the unemployed, acting as buffer of longer periods of unemployment over these health indexes. On the other side, the fear of disclosure did not show moderator effects as expected, but showed direct effects over the majority health indexes, acting as a risk factor for the unemployed. These results support previous findings regarding the significance of perceived social support as a buffer factor in front of stressful experiences in different populations. At the same time, results showed the negative impact of the individual's inability to reveal and express his/her emotions and distress, when under the experience of unemployment.