Abstract

This study was initiated to measure the effect of unemployment on youths of the society. From the literature, two important factors, social unrest (SU) and psychological distress (PD) were found as a result of unemployment. Both factors were measured by developing a questionnaire of SU and PD from the literature. The population comprised juveniles from higher education institutes of Peshawar. Data were collected from 2 public and 2 private higher education institutes of Peshawar, Pakistan. Respondents had either completed their studies or were about to complete their studies. Moreover, they were divided into two major groups of employed and unemployed. 200 questionnaires were distributed by one person, of which 177 were returned and used in the study. SPSS was used for data analysis. The status of employment was measured through a dichotomous scale, while SU and PD were measured through interval scale. The responses were measured by using independent sample t test. It was observed that unemployed juveniles face greater unrest and distress as compared to employed persons.

Key words: Juveniles, unemployment, social unrest, psychological distress.