UNEMPLOYMENT AND IDENTITY IN ADOLESCENCE - A SOCIAL-COMPARISON PERSPECTIVE

This study (a) assesses whether employed young people, unemployed scho ol-leavers, and unemployed young people who have working experience di ffer in their psychological well-being, that is stress, depression, an d general feelings of happiness; (b) examines the effects of these thr ee work: conditions on development and structure of identity; and (c) investigates the effects of identity structure on psychological well-b eing. The favorability hypothesis of social comparison theory seems fi t to explain the relation between identity structure and psychological well-being.