Teenagers without parental role model are 67% less likely to get a job

Young men with no male role models in their lives and women without a mother figure struggle to keep their lives on track, a hard-hitting report warns today.

The Prince’s Trust youth index, the largest survey of its kind, found that young people without a positive figure of the same gender are 67 per cent more likely to be unemployed than their counterparts.

They are also significantly more likely to stay unemployed for longer than their peers, the report suggests.

Bleak prospects: Finding a job can be hard for teenagers if they haven't grown up with role models (file photo)

It found that young men with no male role model are 50 per cent more likely to abuse drugs and young females in the corresponding position are significantly more likely to drink to excess.

Young people who have no positive figure of the same gender are also statistically much more likely to feel suicidal than those who do.

In total, more than a third of youngsters – 34 per cent – admitted to having felt suicidal at some point, but this figure rose to 42 per cent for those without positive figures in their lives.

Nearly one in five young men with no father figure or positive male influence said they used illegal drugs, compared to one in ten with a male role model. There was also a pronounced difference in terms of alcohol abuse between girls with no positive female influence in their lives (19 per cent) and girls with one (16 per cent).

Young men with no male role model to look up to were twice as likely to turn or consider turning to crime as a result of being unemployed.

The report, which was based on interviews with 2,170 16 to 25-year-olds, revealed that one in three young men and almost a quarter of young women have no positive figure to look up to. It found that this was likely to impact significantly on their mental well-being and their outlook on life.

The research suggests that young women who do not have a female role model in their lives are particularly affected, with 50 per cent saying they have felt suicidal.

One in four young people say they lack a sense of identity.

However, this increases to more than one in three for young men without a positive male influence.

These young men are also three times more likely to feel down or depressed all of the time and significantly more likely to admit that they cannot remember the last time they felt proud.

They are also significantly less likely to feel happy and confident than those with male role models, according to the figures.

The Prince’s Trust report, which was carried out by YouGov, suggests young people without male role models are more than twice as likely to lack a sense of belonging.

It also warns that unemployed young people are suffering mental health problems such as panic attacks, self-loathing and depression because they are out of work.

Martina Milburn, chief executive of The Prince’s Trust, which helps disadvantaged young people into work, said: ‘It is nothing less than a tragedy that so many young people feel they don’t have a role model.

‘We should not underestimate the impact a positive adult influence can have on a young person.

‘At The Prince’s Trust, we give vulnerable young people the support they may have lacked earlier in life, helping to build self-belief and, in turn, develop skills for work.’

I looked up to the gang-leaders - and ended up in jail

Valuable lesson: Arfan Naseer spent time in jail after mixing with the wrong crowd

With no father to look to as he grew up, Arfan Naseer fell into a life of drugs and gangs.

He even spent time in prison after becoming involved with the wrong crowd, impressed by their expensive cars and gangster lifestyle.

He believes that if he had had a father or male role model to look up to, he would have seen the error of his ways at a much earlier age.

Mr Naseer, now 29, said: ‘All I saw was these older men driving around with their big cars and I’m ashamed to say that I looked up to them like they were special.’ In 2003, at the age of 21, Mr Naseer was sent to jail for a drugs-related offence.

He said prison changed him and convinced him he needed to sort out his life.

‘I had no male role models around when I was younger because I was an only child and my dad passed away when I was five.

‘I needed a father in my life or perhaps even an older brother – to guide me as a young man. My mum tried to make sure that I never missed having a dad but I did feel left out. She couldn’t be the male role model I needed.’