DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTIVENESS OF HOPE-FOCUSED AND LIFE-DESIGN PSYCHOTHERAPIES ON EMPLOYABILITY OF GRADUATE JOB SEEKERS IN IBADAN, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined effects of Hope-focused and Life-design psychotherapies on employability among unemployed graduates in Ibadan, Nigeria. The buffering role of gender was equally investigated. A pre-test-post-test, control group, experimental design was adopted. Perceived Graduate Employability Scale (? = .75) was used to screen willing participants from among the enrolees of the National Directorate of Employment in Ibadan, Oyo State.  The sample consisted of 90 unemployed graduates randomly selected from among the screened enrolees. The participants were subsequently randomly assigned to the two experimental groups and control group. The treatments lasted eight weeks. The control group were given socio-personal counselling. Other standardised instrument used in the study was Graduate Employability Measure (?=.82). Data were analysed using analysis of covariance and Schefft post-hoc test at 0.05 level of significance. There was a significant main effect of treatment on employability (F_{2, 83} = 6.665, =.138) among the participants. Employability of participants in the Hope-focused intervention (HI) (=165.83) had higher mean than those in Life-design intervention (LI) (=163.77) and those in the control group (=95.63). There was no significant main effect of gender on employability among the participants. Both Hope-focused and Life-design therapies were effective in fostering employability of unemployed graduates.