The Effect of Unemployment on the Mental Health of Youths in Nigeria
CHAPTER ONE
Objective of the study
The aim/objective of this study is assess the effect of unemployment on the mental health of youths in Nigeria
- To find out causes of unemployment in Nigeria
- To find out the effect of unemployment on the mental health of youths in Nigeria
- To find out whether there is preventive strategies and intervention programs of mental health problems for unemployed young people
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literature that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Drawing from the literature review, the study conceptualises mental health and youth unemployment as related largely through one’s socioeconomic conditions, psychological wellbeing, social support networks, and engagement in productive activities. These elements were considered in the adoption of Marie Jahoda (1982)’s latent deprivation model to understand the association between youth unemployment and mental health in Eswatini. Jahoda’s model describes five latent functions that explain the psychological function of work. These factors provide fulfilment, correspond with basic human needs and help sustain well-being and mental health. To be precise, Jahoda contends that deprivation of the latent functions that come with employment negatively affects the mental health of the unemployed (see figure 2.4.1). According to Jahoda these functions are: time structure, social contact, collective purpose, social identity/status, and activity (Paul and Batinic, 2010). The way we experience time is shaped by social institutions such as school and employment in modern societies, hence, employment gives time structure to individuals (Jahoda, 1982). Therefore, if you are unemployed you experience a lack of time structure which impairs a person’s wellbeing as days’ stretch longer when there is nothing to do (Jahoda, 1982). Related to this is the need for activity. Unemployment leads to inactivity, which is often exacerbated by a lack of recreational and structured activities. This idleness of the mind is detrimental for mental health. Collective purpose, speaks to the feelings of being useful and needed by other people, work provides an individual social value contribution to society, and the deprivation of this need leads to feelings of purposelessness which results in distress (Paul and Batinic, 2010). The third latent function related to this is the need for social contact with people outside one’s family. This kind of social contact is important in forming a self-image and growth of an individual, for which the lack of may ensue into mental health disorders. Blustein (2008) also argues that working provides access to social support and relational connection. Social status is the fourth latent function, according to Paul and Batinic, (2010) the social status of an individual is essential for the construction of one’s identity and positive mental health. Work is an essential foundation for social status that the lack of a paid job has negative consequences on the mental well-being which leads to loss of self-esteem, and selfconfidence. These latent functions often function dependently on the other. For example, being active often leads to having a time structure and depending on the activity, it may also allow access to social contact and a level of collective purpose (Creed and Macintyre, 2001).
Unemployment
There seems to be a consensus on the definition of unemployment. Underemployment is a condition that exists when there are people who are able to work, wishing to work, failed to obtain suitable employment but instead they are just employed to keep the body and soul together (Okun, 1995). In another word underemployment results when labour is not utilized for a maximum time or to full advantage (Adesina, 2013). For International Labour Organization (ILO), unemployment is defined as the unemployed as numbers of the economically active population who are without work but available for and seeking work, including people who have lost their jobs and those who have voluntarily left work (World Bank, 1998). In another development, Harold, (2009) defines unemployment as a phenomenon that occurs when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find work. For Olakitan (2015) defines unemployment as unemployed workers who are currently not working but are willing and able to work for pay, currently available to work and have actively search for work. Substantiating, Wayas, Selvadurai, & Awang (2019) views unemployment as “a situation in which persons capable and willing to work are unable to find suitable paid employment”, while Investopedia (2017)defines unemployment as “the facts of a number of people not having a job; the number of people without a job; the state of not having a job”. Unemployment may also be defined as a condition that exist when there is an individual who is able to work, is wishing to work, is dependent on work for survival but is unable to obtain an employment. According to International Statistical Standards, the term unemployment should in principle satisfy the three criteria of (i) being without work (ii) been available for work, and (iii) seeking work. From the foregoing, Okochi, (1952) the leading social policy scholar in postwar Japan, provides a good starting point. Okochi’s perspective covers both developed and developing economies; Japan, his home country, was a developing economy that was on the verge of experiencing a high-growth era when he wrote his thesis. According to him, there are three aspects of the concept of unemployment. First, unemployment denotes that a worker, who does not have his own means of production, has lost his workplace. If he has his own workshop, and, or store, he cannot be unemployed. In such a case, if that worker cannot earn enough money to live, he is called “poor” or “underemployed,” but he is not “unemployed” in a precise sense (International Labour Organization, 2004b). Second, the idea of unemployment presumes that the unemployed worker retains his willingness to work; he shares a characteristic of modern wage worker that Weber calls “the spirit of capitalism.” Such a worker should not be idle and should make every effort to earn his own bread (Udu, & Agu (2015). Third, if a worker cannot find a job that suits his skill or ability set, it can be said that he is “unemployed.” But technically, unemployment can be defined in a “broad” or “strict” sense, depending on the inclusion or exclusion of those without a job who are available for work, but are not actually seeking it. According to ILO (2013a), the irregular economic recovery and successive downward revisions in economic growth projections have had an impact on the global employment situation. Furthermore, the Organization reports that overall, the crisis-related global jobs gap that has opened up since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008, over and above an already large number of jobseekers, continues to widen. In 2013, this gap reached 62 million jobs, including 32 million additional jobseekers, 23 million people (International Labour Organization, 2013b). In the same year, the number of unemployed around the world rose to almost 202 million people, which is an increase of almost 5 million compared with the previous year. By implication, it is certain that employment is not increasing fast enough to keep up with the growing labour. Corroborating these facts, the World Bank (2014) contends that youth unemployment is high in all regions of the world, much higher than adult unemployment. The World Bank further shows that, in 2010, the world average for youth unemployment was 12.6 per cent, roughly 2.5 times higher than that of adults. In South Africa for example, the people are getting frustrated as a result of unemployment. In places such as Mazakhele, people continually complain about the lack of services, despite the fact that they believe that they voted for better life in their democratic election (Mzizi, 2017).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
References
- Abomaye-Nimenibo, W. (2015) ‘The socio-economic effects of youth unemployment in Akwa Ibom State: a study of Uyo local government area, Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria’, Research Journali’s Journal of Economics, 3(6), pp. 1-18.
- Addo, R., Nonvignon, J. and Aikins, M. (2013) ‘Household costs of mental health care in Ghana.’, J Ment Health Policy Econ, 16(4), pp.151-9.
- African Development Bank Group. (2016) ‘Catalyzing youth opportunity in Africa’, Jobs for youth in Africa.
- Blustein, D.L., 2008. The role of work in psychological health and well-being: a conceptual, historical, and public policy perspective. American psychologist, 63(4), p.228.
- Creed, P.A., and Macintytre, S.R. (2001) ‘The relative effects of deprivation of the latent and manifest benefits of employment on the well-being of unemployed people’, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 6, pp. 324-331.
- Cronin, C.J, Forsstrom, M.P, and Papageorge, N.W. (2017) ‘Mental health, human capital and labour market outcomes’, Health and Econometrics and data group, University of York.
- Docrat, S., Besada, D., Cleary, S., Daviaud, E. and Lund, C. (2019), ‘Mental health system costs, resources and constraints in South Africa: a national survey’, Health policy and planning.
- Doran, C.M. and Kinchin, I. (2019), ‘A review of the economic impact of mental illness’, Australian Health Review, 43(1), pp.43-48.
- Dooley, D., Catalano, R., and Hough, R. (1992) ‘Unemployment and alcohol disorder in 1910 and 1990: drift versus causation. Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology, 65, pp. 277-290.
- Eswatini Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre, (2017) Industry labour force skills gap investigation: A focus on the automotive, electrical engineering, and ICT industries in Swaziland.
- Fryer, D. (1997) ‘International perspectives on youth unemployment and mental health: some central issues’, Journal of Adolescence, 20, pp. 333-342
- Jahoda, M. (2002). Employment and Unemployment: Value Theories and Approaches in Social Research. American psychologist, 36 (5):184-191.
- Keufman, R. (2005). The Balance between Paid Work and Home Responsibilities: Personal Problem or Private Concern? Australian psychologist, 32 (6): 1-9.
- Liem, G. (1998). The Effect of Unemployment on Mental Health. Journal of Occupational and Organizational psychology, 72 (18):83-8.
- Lovibond, S.H & Lovibond, P.F. (1995). Manual for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (2nd ed). Sydney: Psychological Foundation. MDGA, P. (2006). Millennium Development Goals Asia-Pacific Committee on Poverty Reduction 2003-2006.
