Page No 324-337 Poonam Dhaka and Selma N. Uugwanga
University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia
This study aimed to explore the life crises prevalence of both employed and unemployed
early adults in Windhoek, Namibia, by comparing differences in life crisis reporting
between them. The study also aimed to determine gender differences in life crisis
experiences of early adults, if any, and also the areas in which life crisis was most
experienced. Guided by a quantitative approach, an Adult Crisis Episode Retrospective
Self-Assessment Tool (ACERSAT) was used to collect the data. Snowball sampling
and simple random sampling methods were used to select the employed and
unemployed participants respectively. A total sample of 186 early adults participated,
of which ninety-five (95) were officially employed and ninety-one (91) were unemployed.
The data obtained were analysed through SPSS version 25.0 using descriptive statistics
such as frequencies and percentages. A Chi-Square test of Independence was also
conducted to determine if there was any significant relationship between life crisis
reporting, occupation status, and gender. Overall, 82.8% of the sample conceded to
experiencing an early adult life crisis. The employed participants reported more life
crisis than the unemployed participants by 7.2%. Males reported a greater incidence
of life crisis than females by 5.7% and most life crises reported were related to the
career and/or family categories. No significant association was found between life
crisis, occupation status and gender. Therefore it is recommended for secondary and
tertiary level life skills education to include developmental psychology to better prepare
early adults for prospective life crisis experiences.