The transitions to adulthood of young people with multiple disadvantages

Abstract

The transitions to adulthood debate has drawn attention to the increasingly complex and unpredictable character of young people’s movements away from their families of origin, into independent housing, and in obtaining paid employment (Iacovou and Berthoud, 2001; MacDonald et al., 2001). Young people’s extended transitions now frequently encompass periods of extended dependency upon their families and/or the state, a phenomenon which is to some extent attributable to the contraction of the UK’s youth labour market (Furlong and Cartmel, 1997; Payne, 1998). While explanations are complex, the lengthening of the school-to-work transition in the UK appears to be, at least in part, attributable to policy decisions to prolong this period of training in response to youth unemployment (Lindley, 1996).

This chapter examines the implications of these issues for young people’s expectations and self-perceptions, with reference to a group of multiply disadvantaged young people in the UK. It draws upon qualitative research with disadvantaged young people at a stage in their lives (post-compulsory education) when they were expecting to have to made significant transitions from school to work, into their own housing, and in terms of personal relationships and family formation (Lakey et al., 2001). Semi-structured biographical interviews were employed, using a detailed topic guide. While this provided a comparable context
for the research, tracking young people’s progress through key transitions(Thomson et al., 2004), the format of the interviews varied, with interviewers employing probes and prompts to ensure that the research process reflected and
explored the diverse and individual circumstances of young people’s lives.

More information

Identifiers

ORCID for Jane Parry: orcid.org/0000-0001-7101-2517

Catalogue record

Export record