Perceived Stress and Anxiety among Unemployed Psychology and Sociology Degree Holders in Pakistan

Unemployment is one of the major issues in Pakistan. It causes psychological distress among individuals irrespective of their educational status. However, there is scarcity of research with reference to graduates from the discipline of Psychology and Sociology. This study aims to fill that gap by examining the association between perceived stress and anxiety among unemployed individuals with degrees in Psychology and Sociology. A cross-sectional correlational design was adopted, and stratified simple random sampling was used to collect data from 384 Pakistani men and women who hold Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD degrees in Psychology or Sociology from public and private universities recognized by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC). Perceived Stress was measured through the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), whereas anxiety level of the respondents was measured using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (Second Edition). The findings revealed a significant and positive association between perceived stress and anxiety (r=.83, p<.01). Moreover, perceived stress was found to significantly and positively predict anxiety (β=.83, R2= .69, p<.001), accounting for 69% of the variance in anxiety scores. The study offers several important implications, including encouraging help-seeking behaviour from mental health professionals, promoting relaxation exercises, providing psychoeducation to reduce societal pressure on unemployed individuals, and urging the government to take firm action against nepotism, lack of merit, and bias in both public and private sectors. Ensuring transparency in the employment selection process is also essential.