Unemployment 'drives youngsters to drugs'

London, Jan 4 (ANI): A new study suggests that young people without jobs often have the risk of poor health throughout their lives, with one out of ten blaming drug or alcohol addiction on unemployment.

The Prince's Trust survey of more than 2,000 unemployed people aged between 16 and 25 also found that they could receive "permanent psychological scars" due to constantly feeling ashamed, rejected and unloved.

Nearly one out of four jobless youngsters believed their unemployed statues led to arguments between them and their parents or other family members.

Almost the same number of people exercised less and blamed unemployment for an unhealthy lifestyle, while 15percent said their life had no direction.

One in three youngsters without a job felt low or depressed and one out of 10 felt almost no one loved them.

"Unemployment has a knock-on effect on a young person's self-esteem, their emotional stability and overall wellbeing. The longer the period a young person is unemployed for, the more likely they are to experience this psychological scarring," the Daily Express quoted economist Professor David Blanchflower, as saying in the report.

"This means an unhappy and debilitated generation of young people who - as a result - becomes decreasingly likely to find work in the future," he added.

"The implications of youth unemployment stretch beyond the dole queue. The emotional effects on young people are profound, long-term and can become irreversible. We must act now to prevent a lost generation of young people before it is too late," Martina Milburn, chief executive of the Prince's Trust, said.

She added: "Young people bore the brunt of the recession last year, with one in five 16-to-24 year olds out of work today. The result is a generation of undiscovered skills and talents. We must invest in these young people, re-building their self-esteem, to ensure that today's unemployed do not become tomorrow's unemployable." (ANI)