The Economic Challenges Faced by Unemployed Youth in Palestine and Their Relationship to Social and Psychological Pressures: A Proposed Perspective from General Practice to Alleviate Them (A study conducted in Jenin Governorate)

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the economic challenges facing unemployed youth in the Jenin Governorate and examine their relationship with the social and psychological pressures experienced by this group. It also sought to propose an intervention framework from the perspective of generalist social work practice to help alleviate these pressures. The study adopted a descriptive-analytical approach and utilized a questionnaire to collect data from a randomly selected sample of 220 unemployed young men and women. The findings revealed that the overall mean score on the scale of social and psychological pressures was 3.86, representing 77.2%, which indicates a high level of pressure. Psychological pressures ranked first with a mean score of 4.02 (80.4%), followed by social pressures with a mean of 3.67 (73.4%), indicating a moderate level. The results also showed no statistically significant differences in levels of social and psychological pressures based on gender, educational qualification, place of residence, or age. In light of these findings, the study recommends providing ongoing psychological and social counseling programs for unemployed youth, as well as launching awareness campaigns to help them cope with the psychological impacts of unemployment. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of offering training programs to enhance youth skills in alignment with labor market needs, and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises to promote youth entrepreneurship through financial and technical assistance.