Frieda Kagola and William Abur
Frieda Kagola, Social Work, University of Sydney, Australia. Corresponding email: fkag7839@uni.sydney.edu.au
Dr William Abur, Lecturer, Department of Social Work, The University of Melbourne, Victoria Australia. Email: william.abur@unimelb.edu.au
How to cite using ASWNet style
Kagola F. and Abur W. (2022). Psychological well-being of Namibian youth within the ecological system theory. Journal of Social Issues in Non-Communicable Conditions & Disability, 1(2), 94 –101.
| Abstract |
| Psychological well-being is the optimal functioning that improves one’s life experience by enabling a person to maximize their potential. The impact of youth psychological well-being within ecological system theory is an unresearched area in Namibia. This study explored the existing literature about psychological well-being among the youth in Namibia. Youth psychological well-being problems are rapidly rising, and media within the country reports social issues related to poor psychological well-being among the youth nearly every other day. Due to family, youth unemployment, and a shortage of culturally appropriate mental health facilities in rural areas, Namibian youth are highly at risk of poor psychological wellbeing for which they generally are unable to receive treatment services. Key words culture, ecological system theory, Namibia, well-being, youth Key points The prevalence of psychological well-being problems among the youth in Africa has been permeating in the African region. There are few analyses conducted to uncover the issues pertaining this problem. We reviewed policies and key literature in mental health in Namibia. Due to family, youth unemployment, and a shortage of culturally appropriate mental health facilities in rural areas, Namibian youth are highly at risk of poor psychological well-being for which they generally are unable to receive treatment services. |
Introduction
The prevalence of psychological well-being problems among the youth in Africa has been permeating in the African region, yet there are few analyses conducted to uncover the issues pertaining this problem. The definition of youth varies widely based on the country, this paper defines youth as a person between the age range 21 and 35 years old. Youth’s psychological well-being on a broader scale means, having purpose in life and being psyhically, and emotionally healthy. Ecological system theory with concentric systems will be a tool that will be used to help understand and explore youths’ well-being. The above-mentioned system entails five socially organized subsystems which involves immediate relationships with youths, the environment that impacts youth’s development, and the cultural patterns and values. Another theory that will be employed is African Indigenous health theory to help comprehend mental health problems and treatment in the African context. Indigenous health theory is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as ‘the sum total of knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness’ (Oseni & Shannon, 2020, p.2). African indigenous health theory encompasses an individual’s spiritual, cultural, psychological, physical, biological and every aspect of health within a person’s environment (Oseni & Shannon, 2020). African indigenous health focuses holistically on a person’s well-being which is essential because for individual psychological well-being to be understood. One must consider the entire ecological system because it is unfeasible to take one element of a youth’s psychological well-being without pulling together the research and exploring the associations and interactions each element has with other domains (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). Psychological well-being entails dynamic construct within the framework of dimensions involving positive experiences and the capacity to meet basic needs in daily life. For this paper, the researcher will employ Ruggeri et al (2020) definition of psychological well-being which is defined as a mixture of feeling good and functioning healthily, the experience of optimistic emotions like contentment and gladness, as well as the development of an individual’s potential ability to have control over their life. The focus of this research paper is on five components: the socio-cultural context of psychological well-being in Namibia, the impact of family on psychological well-being, the interplay between cultural beliefs and psychological well-being, the link between youth unemployment and psychological well-being, and the current mental health facilities in Namibia.
The socio-cultural context of psychological well-being in Namibia
Poor psychological well-being in rural areas, especially among Ovawambo culture in Northern Namibia, is perceived as okwa kanifa oukolele wopomadilaadilo, meaning ‘poor psychological well-being’. Another common term they employ when an individual is acting abnormal, their reactions are paired with okuna eemwengu or madness. Poor psychological well-being often leads to shame in the community, making it difficult for those youth experiencing psychological well-being problems to seek treatment. Additionally, parents and family members are often unable to help connect the affected youth to services and potentially actively discourage the youth from seeking treatment to avoid bringing shame to the family (Muetudhana, 2022). Mental illness remains a taboo in some communities within Northern Namibia, especially for some Ovawambo people who perceive depression as a natural reaction or rather say ‘ólungwenye’. A youth experiencing poor psychological wellbeing in rural areas can be ostracised by their peers. Due to cultural beliefs, Ovawambo individuals entangled in their cultural roots of ancestors believe that poor psychological well-being has resulted from Omulodi, “witchcraft’’, as punishment for theft or murder or from a curse upon your family.
Social stigma has meant that in Northern Namibia poor psychological well-being is a hidden issue in some households. In many households with a young person or individual experiencing psychological well-being problems, they do not always socialise together with family members to prevent shame and gossip from their communities. Due to cultural beliefs, some parents in Northern Namibia use traditional Ovawambo approaches to treat poor psychological well-being. A youth from a background that is deeply rooted in ancestral beliefs will opt to consult a traditional healer ‘odudu’ to treat psychological problems over psychological treatments from psychiatrists or psychologists. The odudu prepares herbal medicine that client will use to get rid of the problem or prevent further poor psychological well-being. Other parents and youths, who are Christian affiliated, would opt to consult the church that is seen as an avenue of hope and refuge in Namibia for individuals experiencing mental health problems (Muetudhana, 2022).
The impact of family on psychological well-being
Family is known to be the basis that forms a youth’s psychological well-being because it provides physical and emotional support and promotes resilience. Family plays a vital role in the life of youth because family members’ attitudes and behaviours are interlinked to youths’ psychological well-being. Positive family members reinforce social support, and emotional support and promote well-being to enhance a sense of meaning and purpose that will enable resilience and boost self-esteem, which is essential for a youth (Thomas et al, 2017). In addition, a positive family creates a conducive environment that profoundly impacts the psychological well-being of youth. Youths that are raised in a loving family tend to receive tremendous support from their families that may have a profound impact on their self-worth, which enhances positive effects, optimism, and better psychological well-being. Moreover, youths from loving family backgrounds are likely to be acquainted with information to seek mental health care services for treatment (Thomas et al, 2017).
Families promote healthy interactions, cooperation and psychological well-being encompassing adequate handling of the conflict between family members to avoid poor psychological well-being (Torres-Soto et al, 2022). Research indicates that family functioning is essential because it highlights the psychological well-being problem in youth. In essence, the way family functions show the operational emotional support of each family member which affects a person’s psychological well-being (Qodariah & Yudiana, 2017).
A positive family has a greater advantage to a youth’s psychological well-being especially when the key domain includes healthy communication, support, and feelings of emotional safety that promote cohesion within the family (Daines et al, 2017). In addition, this domain may involve internal and external resources to be exact coping mechanisms for family challenges and financial resources. Youths from positive family backgrounds are encouraged to maximize the opportunities to encounter positive events in their lives, events such as volunteering in communities and participating in sports activities or church activities which will have a cumulative effect on building their life satisfaction (Park, 2004). A positive family tend to have expectations that foster encouragement, and effective communication.
Family structure has an impact on the psychological well-being of the youth. In Namibia, most family comprises grandparents, uncles, aunties, and cousins sharing a household. Research has shown that family structure influences youth well-being through various mechanisms like the quality of the relationship between parents. Moreover, parents’ mental health affects their children’s peace which is considered a key tenet for psychological well-being. Gender-based violence, alcohol, and parents’ separation play key role in the poor psychological well-being of the youth. In 2013 Namibia was ranked among the highest worldwide with 43.9% of women-heading households because their partners failed to contribute to the upbringing of their children (Ketchell, 2020). Despitewomen being the backbone of society, they continue to endure domestic violence perpetuated on them by intimate partners. One in four Namibian women are survivors of domestic violence and only 14.9% of survivors sought help from the police (Namibia Demographic and Health Survey 2013). Domestic violence is reinforced in some Namibian cultures whereby women are encouraged to keep secrets of abuse they faced in marriage. This is done to avoid divorce and prevent shame upon the family. Despite Namibian laws in place to combat domestic violence it still poses a threat to communities because of the culture protecting abusers (Nembwaya, 2021). Domestic violence influences parenting which highly contributes to the psychological well-being of youth. Parents experiencing domestic violence are less likely to be more loving, caring, affectionate and attentive towards their children (Gul et al, 2020). However, in Namibia parents are not there only caregivers it could be grandparents, uncles, aunties, and elder siblings therefore, domestic violence can be inflicted by anyone within the household. Youths raised in a domestic violent environment are at risk of problem behaviour and low psychological well-being. Because family ties are a source of emotional support that acts as a powerful factor to prevent risky behaviours while promoting resilience during challenging times. Effective family functioning contributes to emotional nurturing which enhances helping each other and promote appropriate parenting in families to enable psychological well-being (Koen et al, 2013).Since Namibian youth are mostly being brought up by grandparents because of absent parents who failed to take up full responsibility these could be anticipated to result into poor psychological well-being.
Methodology
First, we reviewed the publications of Namibia Ministry of Health and Social Service, National Policy for Mental Health since 2013 that included the progress of mental health issues since 1990 following the independence of Namibia. For the paper to make a coherent review of the issue, a large archive of information sampled from numerous secondary sources such as local newspapers, scholarly articles, and thesis from prestigious universities were employed in this paper. We started with front loading of literature, searching for the most important existing literature around youth mental health globally. Then, we narrowed it to psychological well-being of youth, later we reduced it to psychological well-being of youth within the African region. Moreover, we further reduced it to literature that speaks on the psychological well-being of Namibian general population because there were less articles that specifically focused on Namibian youth to be exact within ecological system theory. A narrowing of the literature was established to help us distinguish the suitable approach to tackle the paper. As various sources provided information on psychological well-being among the youth in Namibia, this determines the review and objectives of this paper, for illustration review Figure 1. The above-mentioned method helped with the selection of keywords that are integrated into the study as a navigating map on the topic which guided us in structuring the review into sections of ecological system theory. We explored numerous sources for reference purposes to enable us to attain a more thorough compilation of information on the psychological well-being of youth in Namibia. We weighed the quality of literature sources that were utilised in the paper and reviewed factors to be specific data collection, data analysis and interpretation and the conclusions drawn by each article author.
Figure 1: Illustration of policies and key literature reviewed in the paper
| Author | Name of document | Main idea | Sources |
| Namibia Ministry of Health and Social Services | National policy for mental health | Investigation of mental health issues in Namibia since 1990 following the independence of Namibia. | Ministry of Health and Social Service (2013) |
| Namibia Ministry of Health and Social Services | Namibia Demographic and Health Survey | Impact of women in the community and domestic violence they are envisaging. | Ministry of Health and Social Service (2014) |
| Bartholomew, T. T | A multiple case study of individual and familial experiences of madness among the northern Namibia Ovawambo. | Ovawambo cultural beliefs of Ovawambo and perception of mental health illness | Libraries journal 2020: 51 (7-8) 597-615 |
| Oases, J. | Mental health conversations: Mental health, physiological health equally important. | The impact of poor psychological well-being in Namibia | Local newspaper The Namibia, 15 October |
| Oseni, Z & Shannon, G. | The relationship between Indigenous and Allopathic health practitioners in Africa and its implications for collaboration: a qualitative synthesis | A perspective of African Indigenous health systems and the perception of African people. | Google Scholar 2020: 13 (2-14) |
Findings
We identified 2000 potential literature papers that were reviewed to provide information for this study. However, through assessment, only 1000 provided information on mental health problems which was broad as the focus is on psychological well-being. We further narrowed the papers to 50 that fit the criteria of psychological well-being and later we reduced the paper to 40 because they addressed almost similar keywords of this study (see Figure 2). After an immense revision of these articles, we reduced the literature to 33 that talk about the psychological well-being of the youth, factors associated with psychological well-being, and how ecological systems contributes to the psychological well-being of the youth. The key tenets from this study were the lack of mental health facilities in Namibia, the lack of trained professionals or the scarcity of professionals to provide free psychological well-being, the dedication of less budget on mental health care, alarming unemployment, and cultural beliefs hampering access of mental health services.
Figure 2: Flowing diagram of literature included and excluded in the study
Cultural beliefs and psychological well-being
Africans relied on indigenous traditional medicine before the influence of the Western countries that brought pharmaceutical products such as antidepressants to treat poor psychological well-being and replace indigenous treatments. Indigenous medicine has been trusted by the Africans to treat physical and mental illnesses (Moeti, 2022). Erroneously, western missionaries and colonisation criticised traditional medicine and healing as witchcraft (Mothibe & Sibanda, 2019). Every culture has a different medical system based on the area of competence which may not necessarily be like other countries. For example, Chinese medicine, homeopathy, and modern scientific medicine each is approached according to the fields of expertise ostracising healing systems because of different ideologies and expertise (Tosam, 2019). Due to this perspective, it can be argued that people in African societies can distinguish which kind of illness to consult a medical doctor or traditional healer for treatment or traditional medicine. Researchers reported that traditional medicine is still accessible and used by 80% of the African population treating their physical ailments, spiritual problems, and mental health issues. Traditional medicine is important to Africans because it values a person’s society, family, spirituality, and environment encompassing all aspects of individuals life (Mothibe & Sibanda, 2019). Furthermore, traditional medicine is accessible to a large population because it is affordable. Also, traditional medicine ensures more equitable access to health care compared to Western medicine that is unaffordable to the general population, especially less privileged. African indigenous medicine answers, not just what caused the illness or problem, but why the problem occurred (Oseni & Shannon, 2020). Despite the remarkable advantage of traditional medicine that unravel the issues and causes of illness; the white colonisers passed laws that forbade the use of indigenous medicine in Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, and other countries within the region (Mothibe & Sibanda, 2019). The colonialists made traditional medicine unlawful but this did not stop its use. Ironically, they encouraged Christian healing with water, prayer and prophecy showing their hypocrisy because the methods of healing in Christianity and African religion and culture are almost the same.
Due to western missionaries that influenced African beliefs, churches are sought as places of refuge for individuals experiencing mental health problems in Namibia (Muetudhana, 2022). Nevertheless, indigenous health theory plays pivotal role in the perceptions of psychological well-being in Namibia. One of the prominent cultures in Namibia is Ovawambo which conceptualize poor psychological well-being as an influence from ancestors (Aakwamungu), curses (Okwa fingwa), and manipulations by witches in the community. Thus, the culture is guided by a belief that when a person experiences poor psychological well-being, it is a result of spiritual and magical forces (Bartholomew, 2015). Traditional healers are perceived as exceptional people with the proficiency of curing poor psychological well-being. People sought traditional healing to diagnose and cure mental illness and cast out the evil spirit impacting psychological well-being. Traditional healers also provide healing services to people who have ‘signs of strange attitude or thoughts of running away’ (Bartholomew, 2015, p.117). Because of traditional healers’ status in the community, they are said to be spiritual experts that can speak to ancestor spirits that convey a client’s diagnosis and define the causes of illness including the person responsible. Mental health illness is an important aspect of traditional healing among the Ovawambo that beliefs in psychotherapy of traditional healers. Traditional healers (Odudu) define client situation in which they are unable to distinguish between reality and hallucination, may not recognise family members or unable to identify their friends when they visit him or her. This indicates that the person has lost their mental state or senses are obviously dysfunctional. Parents would arrange a session with a traditional healer for treatment that can be purely rested on spiritual healing. Traditional healer firstly considers the socio-cultural and intellectual history of the patient before deciding on the herbal medicine to prescribe. Other interventions include talk therapy, which is similar to counselling and psychotherapy in western healing.
The traditional healer practices the art of healing by slaughtering an animal to be specific chicken, goat, and cat; the blood is used to strengthen the client (the person seeking help) and initiate them in a strong covenant that will protect them from illnesses and problems clients might envisage. The client meets the traditional healer who performs a ritual to clear the evil spirits tormenting their minds and their psychological well-being. The performance is either spiritual or non-spiritual depending on the consulted traditional healer. After a session with the traditional healer, clients may be provided with herbs to use until the return for follow-up. The traditional healer is said to have profound knowledge of herbal medicine to provide to the client to resolve a psychological problem. Traditional healer instructs the client on the proper preparation and consumption they are expected to take the herbs.
Traditional healers continue to provide spiritual support to individuals that value indigenous medicine and disregard western health care. Although white colonisation encouraged Africans to practice Christianity, Namibian youths that believe in ancestor power are not restricted to consult traditional healers for psychological treatment.
The link between youth unemployment and psychological well-being
Namibia is classified among the upper middle-income developing country in Africa with a population of 2.6 million people in 2019, ranking among the smallest in the SADC region, just about equivalence with that of Botswana, and only larger than that of Seychelles. Half of the population in Namibia is relatively youth (50.7 per cent) below the age of 35 years (Kanyenze & Lapegre, 2012). Although youth rank the highest population in Namibia there is an alarming number of high unemployment among the youth, 34% in the year 2016 were jobless and currently stands at 46.1 % (according to Target review report No.4). Youth unemployment is likely to rise further in Namibia by the end of 2022 reaching 49% (Trading economics global macro models and analysts’ expectations, 2022). Majority of this growth can be assumed to be coming from fresh graduates who recently completed their degrees. The labour market is quite challenging, especially for youths who graduate from different institutions every year, expected to have a certain number of experiences to join the labour market, despite their ambitions and finally faced with the problem of unemployment. The Unemployed youth actively seeking work has consistently been found to experience poor psychological well-being because of a lack of purpose, stress and reduced self-esteem arising from the stigma associated with unemployment (Wilson & Finch, 2021). The application process and assessment regime can exacerbate the psychological well-being of Namibian youth because of the invested time completing job application forms or posting the application forms and travelling long hours to attend job interviews. Referencing the above-stated could adversely influence the probability of re-applying for jobs due to the weakening of individual motivation, thus contributing to further unemployment and lower psychological well-being of the youth. Modern society has a greater emphasis on work as a marker of youths’ identity, which promotes social status and degrades unemployment, the forenamed attribute negatively influences the psychological well-being of the unemployed youth. Unemployed youth experience bitterness, frustration, and suicidal thoughts due to the inability to get life in their hands. An individual could express unemployment disappointment through substance abuse, alcoholism, and engaging in delinquent behaviours (Monios, 2015). Furthermore, unemployment distorts the social relations of the individual due to the social status that modern society reinforced in nowadays relationships. Reneflot and Eversen (2014) stress that the repercussion of youth unemployment substantially influences their future implying that they could seek further education while having fewer responsibilities and financial obligations. Relating the above statement to Namibia it can be presumed that the ill social issues the youth are likely to be involved in could be a result of unemployment frustration that can cause poor psychological well-being.
Mental health facilities in Namibia
Amunyunzu-Nyamongi (2013) asserted that African countries’ governments dedicate less than 2% budget to mental health care, even though mental health problems are drastically increasing. This shows that mental health is under-resourced in the public health of the African Region, despite the alarming number of youth suicides in many countries of the region. It is evident in Namibia the prevalence of mental health illnesses is estimated at 25.6% and expected the number to double in 2025 (Kafula et al, 2020). Namibia is experiencing a rapidly growing number of social problems that impact youth these includes poverty, teenage pregnancy, domestic violence, unemployment, passion killings, alcohol, and drug abuse (Hako & Bojuwoye, 2019). Despite the enormous primary healthcare centres such as clinics and hospitals, Namibia lacks sufficient mental health facilities having only two state mental health hospital units, the Mental Health Unit in Windhoek Central Hospital in the city and Ward 16 in Oshakati, the Northern part of Namibia (Oases, 2021). The two hospitals offer inpatient and outpatient services. This constraint accessibility to mental health care because the treatment and follow-up services are only available at two hospitals countrywide, although more than 60% of the population lives in remote areas (Ashipala & Wilkinson, 2016). Less budget allocated to mental health leads to exceptional demand for the two available facilities because of the high number of patients seeking services (MOHSS,2015).
Another challenge faced by the mental health care system is the scarcity of trained and qualified professionals in the public health sector (Ndjaleka, 2017). In addition, Ndjaleka noted that Ministry of Health and Social Services only has five psychiatrists and three psychologists, despite the rapidly growing population with mental health problems. On the other hand, most registered psychologists are either employed in the private health sector or own practices. Thus, these services are only limited to youth who can afford them leaving most of the youth who would want to seek psychological services with no access.
Discussion
The aim of the paper was to investigate the psychological well-being of Namibian youth within ecological system theory and African Indigenous health theory. Indigenous health care provides medicine to cure physical and mental illness using plants, animal, and spiritual therapies or intertwined with other remedies to treat, diagnose, and prevent illnesses (Adu-Gyamfi & Anderson, 2019). In the African setting, an individual health is linked to metaphysical and supernatural world, leading the traditional medical practitioners to consider addressing both natural and supernatural forces during treatment (Adu-Gyamfi & Anderson, 2019). Considering the indigenous health care given above, traditional medicine in the African societies is all about restoring individuals’ life enabling them to be healed in all aspects. In the African region, people consult traditional healer and diviners to unfold issues pertaining to their illness (Gumbo & Singh-Pillay, 2022). Indigenous health care is available to Namibian youth who believes in ancestor spirits to cure their poor psychological well-being. However, for youths that do not follow traditional beliefs, there is the option to seek counselling services at non-governmental organisations in the country such as Lifeline Childline, Philip Trust, and other institutions. Youths that regard traditional healers to provide efficient traditional medical care are not limited to seek help from healers for better psychological well-being. Although, African traditional healers have the knowledge and ability to unravel issues hampering the psychological well-being of a person, Western colonialists inhibited the indigenous systems health knowledge and practice. Western scientific medicine is highly recognized globally due to its health care system, but it also has loopholes; it has certain skills to learn from traditional healing expertise (Tosam, 2019). Furthermore, (Tosam, 2019) argued that people continue to seek traditional medicine in a modern world that sets a tone of modern medicine not fully attending to the health needs of individuals. However, in spite of the suppression and dominance attitudes of colonialists towards indigenous African health theory and systems, traditional medicine is still in use in Africa today.
The prevalence of mental health in Namibia is high, and mental health illnesses are estimated at 25.6% and expected this number to double in 2025 (Kafula et al, 2020). Poor psychological well-being impact youth which can cause them to engage in delinquent behaviours such as consuming excessive alcohol, substance abuse and drugs. A better understanding of psychological well-being of Namibian youth ‘at risk’ of poor psychological well-being will raise awareness for Namibian government to enhance services and support during this critical time. Support to reconsider mental health budget, improving mental health facilities, and train more mental health professionals is crucial for youth psychological well-being. As research has shown that many Namibian youths are faced with many social issues (Hako & Bojuwoye, 2019) these include unemployed, which have a profound effect on a youth life domain. Employment is vital for youth as it enable them to meet their future life goals and challenges.
We are unable to confirm the number of Namibian youths who are experiencing poor psychological well-being because literature articles that were reviewed paid less attention on youth, instead, they focused on the general population. However, this premises is supported by literature that shed light on the prevalence of mental health issues in Namibia considering that half of the population of the country is youth. Culture remains a major factor that could keep youth that are embedded in their cultural beliefs from seeking help from professionals. As a result, these youth continue to live with the burden of untreated psychological issues even though early intervention and treatment is the key to positive outcomes. Another, lack of mental health facilities, and trained professionals in the country are diminishing the youth from accessing mental health services for their psychological well-being. In addition, as many youths are experiencing poor psychological well-being, it is important that awareness increases in the society so that Namibian population become knowledgeable of the effect of poor psychological well-being among youth.
Due to lack of trained professionals, the Namibian government should recruit more social workers because social work education can help plan strategically in addressing poor psychological well-being through early intervention and providing psychosocial support. Moreover, social workers can carry out community projects that will sensitises the youth to seek help and support for their well-being. In Namibia, Mental Health Week is celebrated each year as part of the calendar. This week should include social workers as a way of furthering awareness of psychological well-being among the youth in Namibia. It is also a significant way to destigmatizing mental health issues and encouraging support within ecological system theory. Therefore, the government should have more social workers on board to address the challenges and gap that hamper the psychological well-being of youth.
Limitation
While the literature articles provided the information on psychological well-being there was less study conducted on youth psychological well-being within Namibia or at least African region, which limited this paper to discuss more factors influencing Namibian youth on psychological well-being. Due to limited information on psychological well-being of youth within ecological system theory, was an inherent limitation of this study.
Conclusion
This research paper aimed to provide insight into psychological well-being among the youth in Namibia within ecological system theory. The researchers aimed to delve in-depth into the existing literature on youth psychological well-being in Namibia. The researchers explored the available sources to unfold this topic in this study with the aim of shedding some light on the issues of youth psychological well-being in Namibia. Although there was a shortage of literature on Namibian youth psychological well-being the researchers managed to interlink the available resources on the topic with Namibia. The existing literature was examined focusing on the impact of family, cultural beliefs, youth unemployment and mental health facilities in Namibia. The study discovered the rapid growth of unemployed youth in Namibia and the correlation between poor psychological well-being associated with unemployment. Another essential finding was lack of sufficient mental health facilities and trained professionals to provide efficient services to all patients. Therefore, the impact of family and youth unemployment lead to poor psychological well-being in youths; for which, they generally are unable to receive treatment services to be specific counselling, and therapeutic support groups because they are not available or undervalued due to cultural irrelavance.
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