The Impact of Unemployment on the Sexual Behaviour of Male Youth in Quzini, Eastern Cape, South Africa: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Drawing from Jahoda's deprivation theory, uuemployed male youth are prone to psychological distress and as a result they resort to drugs and alcohol abuse as a way to cope with discrimination. Owing to gender norms, they are inclined to be sexually aggressive and ven; often engage in unprotected sex to cover their feelings of emotional insecurities. The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of unemployment on the sexual behaviour of Xhosaspeaking male youth, aged 19-35, from Quzini Location, Eastern Cape, South Africa. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design was followed using focus group interviews. The purposively sampled fifteen unemployed males gave their informed consent to be interviewed. For trustworthiness of the study, the researcher met the Lincoln and Guba's principles, namely; credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability. The respondents mentioned that thetj were patriarchal, abusive and involved in criminal activities owing to depression and lowself-esteem. Based on the findings, the recommendations are that the government and private sectors should create jobs aimed at reducing unemployment for unemployed youth and psycho-educational programmes that will equip them in the areas of sexual values and attitudes, communication and decisionmaking skills.