Unemployment in an African Country

Un/underemployment is one of the gravest social problems facing Africans and African societies, and brings with it many devastating consequences. Research has thus far tended to concentrate on the economic aspects of unemployment, and there are virtually no publications originating from African research on the pyschological impact. Meanwhile psychological research emanating from developed countries tends to be of limited relevance to the African social context. This pyschological study within a specific African context is thus breaking new ground. It focuses on the vast number of young, unskilled, male 'street unemployed', many of whom have migrated from the rural areas to the cities, providing insights into their daily struggle to find, or survive without, work, against social expectation, and with no welfare provision. It considers the impact on self-esteem and mental and physical health; and analyses job- seeking behaviour, depression, alcoholism, experiences of time, coping with 'loss of control and future orientation. The study also appraises psychological methods and theories and their relevance for the African context, notably the theory of 'learned helplessness'. and discusses pyschological aspects of economic development. Ilse Plattner is Professor of Psychology, and Webster Gonzo, Lecturer in Industrial Pschology, both at the University of Namibia.Gonzo, Webster is the author of 'Unemployment in an African Country' with ISBN 9789991663203 and ISBN 9991663207.