Vocational education as an interim variable for psychological problems created by youth unemployment

The aim of the study is to determine the unemployment anxiety, stress, depression and self-esteem levels of senior high school students and to examine the mediating effect of vocational secondary education on the relationships between these variables. In this regard, the contribution of vocational secondary education to the psychological well-being of young people was investigated. According to the research results, 18.9% of the students experience high or very high levels of unemployment anxiety. 66.4% of students see the reason for not being able to find a job as the socio-economic conditions of the country. This finding demonstrates the impact of economic conditions on psychological concerns. The school type with the lowest unemployment anxiety is vocational and technical Anatolian high school. This variable differs significantly according to school types. The proportion of students experiencing depression (63.1%) and stress (66.1%) is quite high among the students in the sample. Furthermore, approximately one-third of the sample experienced very severe depression (30.4%) or stress (30%). Findings show that 43.7% of the students have high, 42.7% have medium, and 13.6% have low self-esteem. Depression and stress levels of Anatolian high school students are significantly higher than vocational education center (MESEM) students. Depression, stress and self-esteem levels differ significantly by gender in favor of men. Unemployment anxiety, depression and stress variables explain 44.8% of the change in self-esteem; unemployment anxiety, self-esteem and stress variables explain 71.6% of the change in depression. According to these ratios, our model has a strong explanatory power. The mediating effect of vocational secondary education was detected in the relationships between stress - depression, stress - self-esteem, and depression - self-esteem. It was concluded that vocational secondary school students were in a better situation than general secondary school (Anatolian high school) students in terms of unemployment anxiety, depression, stress and self-esteem levels. Findings indicate that vocational training may play a protective role on students' psychological well-being.