Pressured Youth: The Psychological Impacts of Unemployment in Malawi

Publication Date: 26/04/2025 - Author: Nadia Notiyhella Nathoo

Publication Number: 52025 - Type: Academic Journalism

Editor[s]: James Mullins -Pressnell; Laura Linberga

The Causes

With 87% of the workforce engaged in farming, forestry and agriculture poverty has been rampant in Malawi, coupled with high levels of unemployment due to injustice, poor governance and differences in educational qualification amongst others (Mapopa, 2001). Youth unemployment is a key hindrance to socio-economic development in any country (Wanjiru Munuku, 2012) and the economic insecurity experienced due to unemployment and reliance on informal jobs is a determinant of mental health problems as such depression and anxiety (Scheve et al, 2022). This article gives insight and plausible solutions to the psychological impacts of unemployment amongst the youth and the next generation of adults in Malawi.

Youth unemployment is a contemporary problem in Malawian urban areas as the rate is four times higher than that of adults (Garcia & Fares 2008, UN Habitat, 2013).  It is pivotal to focus on the youth due to the transitions that occur in this life cycle and due to the different existing youth labor structures (Banks & Ullah ,2024). The majority of the working youth in the informal sector have low-quality jobs with poor working conditions, security and social benefits. As well as this there is a poorly organized youth entrepreneurship preparation (Phiri, 2015) that is coupled with exploitative market practices that have youth attending unpaid internships on a long-term basis (Jumbe et al, 2022). This further increases the dependency on government resources due to the consistent underemployment and unemployment (Wanjiru Munuku, 2012) .

With 70% of the population between 15-29 not being formally employed, either due to frictional unemployment where individuals are unable to fill jobs due to lack of skills or unawareness of job opportunities, or due to residual unemployment, whereby unemployment occurs because of individual factors such as age or training (Durotoye, 2014),  individuals lean towards engaging in easily accessible high-grade marijuana and cheap alcohol to escape the obscurity of their daily lives due to an inability to cope correctly (Chamley, 2013). The misconceptions and beliefs about mental health in Malawi are fuelled in part by religion and cultural beliefs that perceive mental health adversities in such a different lens from the  biopsychosocial perspective,  which enhances and exacerbates the susceptibility of health complications (Mmanga et al, 2023).

Consequences of youth unemployment

The vicious cycle of poverty caused from unemployment amongst other issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic which worsened socioeconomic issues, health challenges, mental health and substance abuse issues further pose a risk to the long term health outcomes amongst youths due to the continued engagement in negative health behaviours and mental distressed experiences (Jumbe et al, 2022). This also has a gender implication for young women who are more likely to be unemployed in contrast to male counterparts leading to poor quality living as essential services are unaffordable (Matabwa & Umar, 2021)

Although youth employment is a global challenge and phenomenon, the increased prevalence of the youth population in Africa makes this acute particularly in Ghana, Mali, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda where university graduates have the highest youth unemployment rates around the world (Baah-Boateng, 2016). Moreover, there are a myriad of consequences that arise due to urban youth unemployment such as increased HIV/AIDS, early pregnancies, job and social insecurity, reduced economic contributions from youth, increased drug and alcohol abuse and prostitution (Phiri, 2015). There are also psychosocial effects such as low self-esteem, increased depression or anxiety as well as psychiatric morbidity (Donovan & Oddy, 1982) due to individuals experiencing poverty, social decline and social exclusion (Schlee, 2024).

What could be done

Successful healthy psychosocial adjustment to life adversities is crucial for the wellbeing of any adolescent in this predicament, yet evidence illustrates high comorbidity between life impairing adjustment problems such as substance abuse, crime, suicidal behaviors and unemployment (Fergusson, Horwood et al, 2001). Mediating factors such as social support and held attitudes influence the successful adjustment towards unemployment, the development of negative health behaviors and psychological disorders (Hammarstorm, 1994). The duration of unemployment influences the health of unemployed individuals which leads to high direct and indirect social costs for a country (Schlee, 2024). In Malawi this is clearly illustrated as it has been ranked as the  4th least happiest country, based on scores of social support and GDP per capita rankings,  amongst other contributions (Chavula, 2025).

Studies conducted by Coppin (2018) suggest that overcoming the negative influences of unemployment amongst the youthful population with the integration of realistic optimism and proactivity in interventions can ensure minimal negative self-talk which contributes to the erroneous causality of unemployment. This is also supported by cornerstone cognitive behavioral models in psychology such as the ABC approach by (Beck & Ellis ,1979) which builds resilience by the identification of faulty beliefs and challenging them to avoid negative thought loops.

Furthermore, the implementation of intervention programs that aid in developing personal skills would enhance employment levels as indicated by the JOBS program intervention in South Africa, which focused on participant empowerment through self-esteem and confidence enhancing techniques, that equip individuals with a resilience and growth mindset to apply amidst adversity to reduce psychological distress. (Paver, 2019). This is useful as unemployed youth experience heightened boredom, alienation, shame, stigma, hopelessness and depression (Fajimi, 2025), as continued unemployment provokes a myriad of components that negatively influences psychological wellbeing  (Onyemaechi, 2025).

To add, the coping theory developed by Folkman & Lazarus (1984) suggests individuals adopt problem-focused and action-based coping mechanisms that are not passive, avoidant or defensive (Schlee, 2024). Inclusive interventions for the youthful persons with disability could be tackled with the promotion of social entrepreneurship to create supportive diversity in the workforce and increase fairness in access to educational and economic opportunities (Halid & Osman et al, 2020).

Youth unemployment can further be combated with investments, incentives and strategies used to improve the informal sector through youth development and education to enhance proactivity and productivity (Durotoye, 2014). Social workers may further advance these efforts by networking, engaging and advocating for prosocial policies with relevant collaborations to increase chances of youth employment and entrepreneurship (Fajimi, 2025). By increasing psychological resilience in youth as a coping mechanism dysfunctional behaviour, inadaptability to change and competent respondents to change may occur (Dalmis & Buyukatak et al, 2024).

Conclusion

Studies suggest engaging youth in cognitive restructuring to ensure lack of dependence on other nations in relation to borrowing funds for development and ensuring youth engages in psychotherapy (Onyemaechi et al, 2025) not only does this increase the sense of ownership and responsibility for oneself but it also improves wellbeing and psychological outcomes. In the long run. This would reduce comorbidity of mental illness and HIV neuropsychiatric manifestations in the country (UNICEF, 2020).

Moving away from traditional informal employment for youth and agricultural practice as the main source of employment would bolster economic development for the country due to the direct investments in youth skill development, reducing the strain on government resources in the long term whilst creating a psychologically suitable condition for everyone to have improved wellbeing.

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