The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of unemployment on the
mental well-being of the South African working age population. The implication of
exploring this relationship is to indicate the importance of good mental health among
persons who are not employed. The present study also aimed atinvestigating the
role that government can play in mitigating the impact of unemployment on mental
health. This part of the research assessed the effectiveness of government’s social
security system.
The current study employs a mixed research design whereby both quantitative and
qualitative methods of data analysis are used. The relationship between
unemployment, mental well-being and government intervention is investigated using
a cohort group in which the mental health of persons not employed, aged between
15 and 64 years, are followed over the period, 2004 to 2008. The results are
presented using two types of data. First, secondary data from Statistics South
Africa’s General Household Survey (GHS) were used to measure the impact of
unemployment on mental health and to ascertain the impact of government social
assistance on affected individuals’ mental well-being. Secondly, in order to explore
individual perceptions around government intervention, the research employed a
qualitative phenomenological design. This involved conducting semi-structured
personal interviews with four unemployed women residing in Gauteng.
The results showed that incidences of self-reported mental health illnesses were
most likely to be found among individuals who were not employed as compared to
those that were employed. This finding proved to be consistent using both
descriptive and multivariate statistics which included predictive models. In terms of
government intervention, positive mental well-being was shown to be positively
related to access of social welfare services (in the form of social grants). This finding
was true for all the years of reporting (i.e., 2004 to 2008).
In conclusion, although unemployment was found to have a negative impact of
mental well-being, government intervention was shown to positively mitigate this
impact, thereby giving hope to an otherwise hopeless situation. Unemployment and its impact on mental well-beingalso proved to be a complex subject, requiring
multidisciplinary intervening strategies to solving it. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/11877 |
| Date | 17 October 2013 |
| Creators | Mabela, Constance Sarah |
| Contributors | Fourie, Mattheus Eduard |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (243 leaves : ill.) |
| Rights | University of South Africa |
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