The Association Between Social Stigma, Career Barrier, and Depressive Symptoms Among Out-of-School Korean Adolescents Based on a National Sample

This study aimed to verify the relationship between parental abuse, ego-resilience, social stigma, career barriers, and depressive symptoms among out-of-school youths. The data of 522 adolescents (mean age = 18.01 years) from the Dropout Youth Panel Survey conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute were used. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that female adolescents reported more depressive symptoms than male adolescents. The family economic status and ego-resilience were negatively related to depressive symptoms. Parental abuse was positively associated with depressive symptoms. In particular, social stigma and career barriers were positively related to depressive symptoms. Notably, social stigma and career barriers explained 17.7% of the variance in depressive symptoms. The results of this study suggest that society needs to reduce the social stigma and career barriers perceived by out-of-school youth. Professional counselors and social workers could help these individuals by providing them information and advice for their careers and reducing perceived social stigma.