Effect of underemployment on school-leavers' self-esteem
1School of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine, USA.
Journal of Adolescence
|June 1, 1997
Summary
Economic underemployment, including unemployment and low income, significantly lowers self-esteem in recent school-leavers. This impact persists even when controlling for job satisfaction and other factors, highlighting a critical societal issue.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Economics
Background:
- Economic underemployment is a growing concern for recent school-leavers.
- Previous research has primarily focused on traditional unemployment, with less attention paid to other forms of economic underemployment.
- The impact of various forms of economic underemployment on psychological well-being, specifically self-esteem, requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the effects of economic underemployment on the self-esteem of recent school-leavers.
- To differentiate the impact of economic underemployment from job satisfaction on self-esteem.
- To compare the self-esteem levels of economically underemployed individuals with those adequately employed.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study design tracking recent school-leavers.
- Statistical analysis controlling for variables such as early self-esteem, socio-economic status, gender, ethnicity, aptitude, age, and education.
- Assessment of economic underemployment through unemployment, involuntary part-time employment, intermittent unemployment, and poverty income.
Main Results:
- Self-esteem was significantly lower in all economically underemployed groups compared to the adequately employed.
- No significant differences in self-esteem were found among the various underemployed groups after controlling for covariates.
- Economic underemployment demonstrated a negative relationship with self-esteem, independent of perceived job satisfaction.
Conclusions:
- Economic underemployment poses a significant risk to the self-esteem of young adults.
- Societal attention should be directed towards addressing economic underemployment, similar to traditional unemployment.
- Interventions aimed at improving self-esteem in vulnerable populations should consider the pervasive effects of economic underemployment.
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