Financial Hardship and Subjective Norms as Predictors of Job Seeking Behaviour among Unemployed Youths in Oyo state, Nigeria

Abstract

The present study examined financial hardship and subjective norms as predictors of job seeking behaviour among unemployed youths in Oyo State, Nigeria. The study employed the ex-post-facto research design. Two hundred and fifty unemployed youths randomly selected through purposive sampling technique from five Local Government Areas in Ibadan participated in the study. The participants' age range was between 21 and 40 years, with mean age of 30.2 and standard deviation of 3.2. Three instruments namely Job Seeking Behaviour Scale, Financial Hardship Scale and Subjective Norms Scale were used to generate data for the study.Two research questions were posed and tested at 0.05 margin of error using multiple regression statistics. The results indicated that the two independent variables jointly and relatively contributed measure significantly to the prediction of the criterion measure (F (2.248) = 14.21; P< 0.05) On the basis of the findings of this study, it is recommended that career counsellors and personnel psychologists should develop intervention programmes aimed at helping the unemployed in coping with long-lasting unemployment, social isolation and financial deprivation. Counselling implications were also highlighted.

Keywords: financial hardship, subjective norms, job seeking behaviour, unemployed youths.