Determinants of Primary Group Assistance During Unemployment

In recent years much research attention has been given to the role of primary groups in ameliorating stressful life events. However, little is known about what factors determine the amount of assistance people receive from relatives & friends during a situation of crisis. To examine this phenomenon, interviews were conducted with a sample of municipal & state employees (N = 251) in an eastern US city who were involuntarily laid off from their jobs. The data revealed that Rs received considerable assistance from parents & friends -- the two primary group types included in the analysis -- during the period of unemployment. Objective economic deprivation, indexed by the difference in family income during & before the period of unemployment, was not a major factor in how much assistance was received; but the response to unemployment measured by cutbacks in personal consumption was significantly related to receiving assistance. Age was an important determinant of parental assistnace but not assistance from friends. Frequency of social contact with parents & friends was also an important determinant of amount of assistance received. Implications of these findings are discussed. 5 Tables, Appendixes. Modified HA.