The issue of unemployment started to be considered as a major problem in the most developed countries during the 1930s when these countries faced a major economic recession. At that time researchers in different academic disciplines such as economics, sociology and psychology focused their research on the impact of unemployment on individuals, families and societies. In addition, studies concerning the impact of unemployment investigated topics such as the relationship between unemployment and suicide and juvenile crime. Researchers also focused on the relationship between unemployment and family life including family communication and general family functioning, and individual outcomes such as self-esteem and life satisfaction where mixed results were reported. In recent years most developing countries have started to focus on the issue of unemployment as a growing crisis. The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has recognised and responded to the problem of unemployment during the last two decades. The Saudi government now plan to address the problem of unemployment from different aspects such as economically, educationally and socially. This research focuses on the relationship between unemployment and family relationships and individual outcomes. Since the literature revealed few previous studies focused on the Saudi environment, it is hoped that the present study will contribute to the existing literature and provide important new evidence of the case of unemployment in the Saudi context. The literature helped in refining and developing the research variables and research questions. For data collection purposes, the study adopted a triangulation approach. In the first stage, a survey questionnaire was employed with a research sample comprising unemployed individuals (N= 550), and for comparison purposes a sample of employed individuals was selected (N=600). In the second stage, to obtain a clearer view and contribute to the comprehensiveness of the research findings, semi structured interviews were conducted with selected subjects who participated in the first stage and agreed to continue in the second stage. The results showed various relationships between unemployment and the examined factors. For family relationships, the results did not show a significant relationship between family communication (p = .697) and general family functioning (p = .242). For individual outcomes, the results indicated significant relationships between the two examined factors; self-esteem (p < .001) and life satisfaction (p < .001). In addition, the results showed that religion was the most frequently adopted strategy by participants that could help in reducing the impact of unemployment. However, the participants believed that family was the most reliable source of support. The results also reveal that the impact of unemployment can be influenced by factors such as wider support and work involvement. The interview findings showed similar themes where participants did not indicate that there was a negative relationship between unemployment and family relationships while evidence of the negative associations between unemployment and personal outcomes (self-esteem and life satisfaction) was reported. The findings helped the identification of different implications that can be of benefit for relevant organisations while contributing to academic knowledge about unemployment.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:631572 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Alfaraidy, Hamdh Abdullah |
| Publisher | University of Liverpool |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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