Perceived Effects of Psychosocial Support on the Emotional Wellbeing of Youth Affected by Parental Absence in Mbeere South Constituency, Embu County, Kenya

The key functions of psychosocial support needed to promote the emotional wellbeing of vulnerable youth are commonly overlooked. This study aimed to explore the perceived effects of psychosocial support on the emotional well-being of youth with absent parent(s).The objectives were; to establish the relationship between informational psychosocial support, emotional support, instrumental support, companion psychosocial support and emotional wellbeing among youths with absent parents from Mbeere South Constituency in Embu County, Kenya. The study used a correlational design. The study used the stratified sampling design and the simple-random technique. Result on the relationship between informational psychosocial support and emotional well-being indicated there was no significant relationship (r = 0.09, p = 0.46). On the companion psychosocial support the finding showed that there was a negative relationship between the companion psychosocial support and emotional well-being. However, the relationship was not significant (r = -0.215, p = 0.07). On the relationship between emotional psychosocial support and emotional well-being the results revealed that there was a positive correlation between the two variables. However, the relationship was not significant (r = 0.11, p = 0.38). On the relationship with instrumental psychosocial support, the findings showed that there was no significant relationship (r =-0.05, p = 0.63) between instrumental psychosocial support and emotional well-being. This study therefore recommended that the local organizations should provide safe spaces where youths can seek psychological support and the local leaders should be trained on how to offer psychosocial support.