Risk factors associated with hopelessness among unemployed graduates during the Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa

Hopelessness is defined as having a pessimistic expectation of the future and the belief that goals are unachievable. It is reported to be high among the unemployed. During the Covid-19 pandemic, unemployment increased, especially among young graduates. Hence, in this study, we aimed to find the factors that contributed to developing feelings of hopelessness in unemployed South African graduates. This study made use of the survey data obtained from the larger Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI) study. The primary outcome variable was the presence of hopelessness, which was based on Beck’s Hopelessness Scale (BHS). The study participants completed a self-administered questionnaire on a data-free online platform within two months of commencement of employment in the PYEI internship programme. The survey data were analysed using Stata 15.0. (StataCorp Texas USA 2016). The prevalence of hopelessness was presented by the independent variables of interest. Bivariate logistic regression models were used to investigate the association between the independent variables with the primary outcome of hopelessness. Our study reported that being “not African” was associated with hopelessness and that prolonged social media use protected against developing feelings of hopelessness. Identifying these risk factors is vital in caring for the mental health of South Africans.