Facing the Ills of Unemployment: The Role of Religiosity and Social Support
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Facing the Ills of Unemployment: The Role of Religiosity and Social Support Christopher M. Amissah1 · Kingsley Nyarko1
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract The study examined the role of religiosity and social support in coping with mental health problems associated with unemployment among 362 Ghanaian youths. Through a cross-sectional survey, participants’ mental health (i.e., depression, cognitive distortions, and suicidality), religiosity, and degree of social support were assessed. The data revealed significant buffering effects of religiosity on mental health problems associated with unemployment. Social support had direct, but not buffering, effects on mental health. The findings highlight the need to promote religiosity as a coping mechanism for the adverse effects of unemployment, especially in the absence of immediate economic interventions. Keywords Unemployment · Mental health · Religiosity · Social support
Introduction Psychosocial resources are vital to every individual (Falcon et al. 2009). However, they are exceptionally relevant to people experiencing negative life events (Burns and Machin 2013; Navarro-Abal et al. 2018). Negative life events such as unemployment are often implicated in mental health disturbances such as depression, cognitive distortions, and suicidality (Amissah and Nyarko 2017; Burns and Machin 2013; Spinhoven et al. 2011). Individuals employ different coping resources when facing negative life events. Psychosocial factors such as social support and religiosity can explain how people react to negative life events such as unemployment (Åslund et al. 2014). Studies have shown quite convincingly that social support is beneficial to health among individuals facing stressful life events (Burns et al. 2011; Gjesfjeld et al. 2010; Lazarus and Folkman 1984). According to Thoits (1995), social support refers to “the functions performed for the individuals by significant others, such as family, * Christopher M. Amissah [email protected] 1
Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, LG 84, Legon, Accra, Ghana
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Vol.:(0123456789)
Journal of Religion and Health
friends, and coworkers” (p. 64). These significant others are important sources of instrumental, informational, and emotional support (Burns et al. 2011; Carlson and Perrewé 1999). Social support may also denote various aspects of social relationships useful to individuals in stressful times (Schwartz and Frohner 2005). Social support, expressed in terms of social relationships, provides material and interpersonal resources which are valuable to the recipient (Burns et al. 2011). These resources may independently or interactively aid individuals to effectively deal with negative life events (Lakey and Cohen 2000). Thus, social support becomes indispensable when considering buffers for the adverse effects of unemployment. Utilizing quantitative and qualitative data, Lorenzini and Giugni (2010) discovered that long-term unemployment caused financial distress, anxi
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