From Experienced Stigma to Job Access of Unemployed People: A Longitudinal Study of the Mediating Role of Anticipated Stigma, Internalized Stigma, Self-Efficacy, and Job Search Behavior

Unemployed people are stigmatized, and the psychological mechanisms linking stigma to job search behavior from their perspective remain to be explored. We examine how experienced, anticipated, and internalized stigma are related to self-efficacy, job search behavior, and access to employment of unemployed people. Using Structural Equation Modeling, we conduct a three-part study with cross-sectional and longitudinal psychological, behavioral, and job access data from 2,098 French jobseekers. Study 1a shows that a model in which experienced stigma predicts anticipated stigma, which in turn predicts internalized stigma, has better model fit and selection indices than a model in which anticipated stigma predicts experienced stigma, which in turn predicts internalized stigma. Study 1b extends this model by demonstrating that all three stigma processes are negatively correlated with self-efficacy, with internalized stigma negatively mediating most of the relationship between experienced stigma and anticipated stigma with self-efficacy. Study 1c further links self-efficacy to objective job search behavior (number of applications sent within 90 days) and access to employment after 180 days. The findings highlight a complex interplay of stigma processes. While internalized stigma consistently, directly and indirectly impairs outcomes, anticipated stigma shows both direct and indirect mobilizing and inhibiting effects on self-efficacy and behavior. This work advances theoretical models of stigma components and emphasizes self-efficacy as a critical intervention target for improving employment outcomes of stigmatized unemployed individuals.