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Navigating complex lives: a longitudinal, comparative perspective on young people's trajectories.
1Youth Research Centre, The University of Melbourne, Australia. j.wyn@unimelb.edu.au
Early Intervention in Psychiatry
|January 7, 2011
Summary
Social and economic policies in the 1990s and 2000s impacted young people's employment security and mental health. Precarious labor markets hindered goals of affluence, negatively affecting well-being.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Public Health
- Economics
Background:
- Examines the influence of social and economic policies on young people's lives during the 1990s and early 2000s.
- Investigates the relationship between social conditions, opportunities, constraints, and mental health patterns in youth.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze how social policies affected young adults' employment security, life goals, and mental health.
- To compare these effects in Canada and Australia.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal cohort analysis of the Paths on Life's Way (Canada) and Life-Patterns (Australia) studies.
- Utilized mixed-methods data from surveys and interviews with participants who entered the labor market in the early 1990s.
- Included analysis of education and labor market policies in both countries during the 1990s.
Main Results:
- It took 14 years post-secondary for most Australians and Canadians to achieve employment security.
- Young Australians reported lower marriage/fertility rates and poorer mental health compared to Canadians.
- Education and labor market policies prioritized global competitiveness and employer flexibility.
Conclusions:
- Social policies significantly impacted young people's ability to achieve financial security and life goals.
- Increased job uncertainty and precariousness led to poorer mental health assessments.
- Addressing youth mental health requires understanding its roots in broader social and economic policy outcomes.
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