BY ROSEMARY NWAEBUNI
“Since after your National Youth Service engagement, you have been in this house waiting for manna to fall from heaven, so you can eat. You can’t keep hanging around waiting until you get a job; you need to go out there and hustle like your mates and make money. Pascal, who completed the Youth Service program at the same time as you, is already making money and supporting his parents’’, chastised Stephen’s father.
‘’The young man who lives in the same compound with me here in Ikorodu, Lagos State, this afternoon consumed two bottles of Sniper, a highly toxic insecticide, leading to his death right in front of his mother. The young man was driven to this extreme act due to his parents’ continuous criticism and comparison of his achievements with those of their friends’ children. All efforts to save his life by other tenants who responded to his mother’s cry for help proved abortive’’, recounted Adepoju.
These two separate incidents epitomise the increasing cases of depression among Nigeria’s youth population, resulting from parental pressure and the tendency to compare their children with their peers who are doing relatively better in the light of society’s misplaced standards. Parental pressure refers to the emotional stress parents tend to put their children through by setting standards and expectations for them regarding academic performance, career choices and social behaviour.
Parental pressure can stem from the desire of parents to see their children succeed in different areas of life, including education, career path and financial success. It can also result from the desire of parents to see their children succeed in areas they themselves had failed, or even forcing them to be like their peers, who they adjudge to be doing relatively well.
On the other hand, the term, ‘’depressed youths’’ refers to young people or adolescents who are experiencing a serious depression epitomised by intense feelings of sadness, hopelessness and loss of interest that goes beyond normal, temporary mood swings.
Depression significantly affects how a youth feels, thinks and behaves, interfering with their daily life, social activities, school work and family relationships.
Parental pressure contributes to the high rates of depression among Nigeria’s youth population. They face immense expectations for academic, professional and marital success. This pressure can lead to overwhelming stress, anxiety and depression, especially when they conflict with a youth’s personal interests or wellbeing.
Examples of pressure mounted on youths by Nigerian parents are replete. They include insistence on high grades in school, regardless of the child’s abilities or interests; insisting that a child pursues a particular course of study in the university without consideration for their particular area of interest; pushing a child to constantly practice for a sport such as footballing activity to win laurels; pressurizing their child to go out there to make money any which way like their mates to improve the family’s financial situation.
Parental pressure contributes significantly to depression among youths in many ways than one. Many Nigerian parents tend to expect too much from their children, a situation that places significant pressure on them to succeed. They are often expected to achieve academic excellence, secure prestigious careers and marry at a certain age.
These high expectations can become overwhelming when they clash with a youth’s personal interests, financial situation or emotional state. Many youths bear this pressure from their parents in suppressed silence due to cultural dictates that promote resilience and consider emotional vulnerability as weakness. This prevents many youths from discussing their struggles with their parents or guardians and getting help.
Toxic home environment, where conflict, harsh discipline, lack of parental support, quarrels, and domestic violence are constant occurrences, combine to worsen the situation of a youth already witnessing parental pressure.
