COMPARISON OF DEPRESSON, ANXIETY AND SELF-ESTEEM AMONG EMPLOYED AND UNEMPLOYED YOUTHS IN KARU LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCIL, NASARAWA STATE
Abstract
Research evidence indicates that being unemployed could have several damaging psychological consequences. This study aims to make a comparison of depression, anxiety and self-esteem among employed and unemployed youths in Karu Local Government Council, Nasarawa State. A cross sectional survey design was adopted for the study. The sample consisted of 223 employed (111) and unemployed (112) youths (148 males and 72 females between 15 and 35 years of age) recruited using simple random sampling technique. Three hypotheses were tested using Independent Samples t-test. Results showed a significant difference in the level of depression among unemployed and employed youths [t(221) = -2.07; p < .05]. There is a significant difference in anxiety among unemployed and employed youths [t(221) = -2.47; p < .0.05]. The study however found no significant difference in self-esteem among unemployed and employed youths [t(221) = 1.96; p > .05]. The results indicated that depression and anxiety are important public health problem among sampled employed and unemployed young in Nigeria. Therefore, it is recommended that policy makers and program planners should establish appropriate strategy for prevention, early detection and management of depression and anxiety among this population.
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