This paper uses a model drawn from the occupational stress literature to predict variations in the psychological experience of long‐term unemployed men. The model proposes that variations are mainly due to the stressfulness of the environment which is defined by the balance of problems, supports and opportunities existing in it. The model assumes, however, that the impact of the environment is modified by certain other variables such as social class and financial circumstances, and personal attributes such as coping tactics. The model is tested on a sample of 399 men who had been unemployed for between 6 and 12 months. Stepwise multiple regression is used to test the model, and it is shown that the severity of problems does predict level of psychological symptoms even when the conditioning variables and the personal attribute variables have been controlled. Some limitations of the study are noted in the conclusio