Personality Characteristics in Unemployed Australian Males—Implications for “Drift” Hypothesis in Unemployment

This paper contrasts the personality characteristics of a sample of 171 unemployed males with comparative data drawn from a normative sample of 1,930 employed males, using the Gordon Personal Profile–Inventory. Significant differences were identified on dimensions of Ascendancy, Responsibility, Cautiousness, and Personal Relations. Implications for the “drift” versus “social causation” models of unemployment are examined.