The impact of the youth opportunities programme on young people's employment prospects and psychological weil-being

A study of 1978 and 1979 school-leavers in Leeds is reported. The results show that there is a significant improvement in employment prospects after participation in the Youth Opportunities Programme. Using Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire, a measure of probability of psychiatric disorder, it is shown that YOP acts as a buffer, alleviating the detrimental psychological effects of unemployment. This effect is only found during participation on YOP, and the detrimental psychological effects of unemployment return for those ex-trainees who are unemployed after YOP.