SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL RAMIFICATIONS OF PROLONGED YOUTH JOBLESSNESS: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF ANXIETY, FRUSTRATION, AND SOCIAL DEVIANCE

Abstract

Youth unemployment is not only an economic condition but also a social and psychological experience that can undermine emotional well-being, personal identity, family relationships, and community participation. This study examines the reported socio-psychological consequences of prolonged unemployment among young people in Larkana District, with particular attention to anxiety, depressive symptoms, reduced self-confidence, social withdrawal, family tension, and perceived vulnerability to deviant behavior. The study is presented as an exploratory mixed-method investigation based on a purposive sample of 200 respondents and qualitative key-informant interviews, as described in the source research draft. The supplied survey summary reports severe levels of anxiety (52.1%), depressive episodes or despondency (48.6%), loss of self-confidence (65.2%), social withdrawal (39.5%), and behavioral difficulties such as insomnia or aggression (44.0%). It also reports that 78% of unemployed respondents experienced persistent household tension. These figures are reproduced as reported and should be interpreted cautiously because respondent-level data, scale descriptions, sampling details, and interview transcripts were not supplied for independent verification. The analysis is informed by Jahoda’s latent deprivation approach and research synthesizing the relationship between unemployment and mental health. The paper argues that employment policy should incorporate accessible psychosocial support, family-sensitive counselling, career guidance, skills development, and community-based reintegration. It concludes that unemployment interventions are likely to be more responsive when they address both labor-market exclusion and the psychosocial pressures experienced by young people.