The coping patterns of the unemployed on the Cape Flats
For the purpose of this study, two criteria were utilised to identify a person as being unemployed: someone who is part of the economically active population by virtue of his or her age; but does not fully participate in the formal economic sector. It could be argued that such a definition of unemployment is far too broad, and would include the entire informal economy. But, firstly, this is a psychological study, and so it could be argued that a recognition criterion is appropriate. That is, psychologically speaking, if an individual perceives him or herself to be unemployed, but does not meet all the economic criteria to be defined as such, the case merits exploration, since his or her self-identification with the unemployed could lead to the same psychological response as that of the economically defined unemployed person. Consequently, more economically precise definitions, though informative, are not vital for this study. Secondly, as will be explained later, this study is exploratory in nature, examining the coping patterns of the unemployed. A broader definition would provide a larger research domain which could then include more unusual experiences of unemployment. These unusual cases may provide insights into how less effective copers could learn to cope more effectively with unemployment. This is the rationale for including some individuals who are involved in the informal economy. Someone employed on a regular, virtually full-time basis in the informal economy is more employed than unemployed and it would be difficult to justify his or her inclusion in an unemployed sample. On the other hand, those individuals who are active in the informal economy on an irregular, part-time basis, or on a small scale, and use this activity as a means of trying to cope with unemployment, could be included in such a sample. On the basis of regularity of payment by "employer", number of hours worked per day, and number of days worked per week, cut-off points were established to determine who in the informal economy would be included in this study. A series of questions were asked at the start of an interview, to establish that a prospective interviewee met certain criteria before being included in the sample.
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