Análisis de gases disueltos (ASTM D-3612)

My first and second research questions were concerned with exploring the young people’s perceptions of their NEET experiences compared with their current experiences now that they were in EET. In the interview I therefore asked young people to reflect on how they felt about being NEET and how that

177

time of their life had changed them. As these two themes are closely linked, I review them together.

The interviews revealed that being NEET had impacted in numerous ways on these young people’s personal identity and outlook on life. They described a mixture of positive and negative perceptions of themselves, but their feelings were predominantly negative. Insecurity, lack of confidence and feeling low and trapped by their circumstances were common experiences, although two

interviewees retained a sense of optimism that things would improve. Young people used a range of coping strategies during this time, but they often found it hard to deal with the mismatch between their situation and their previous

expectations, and with the boredom, isolation, lack of money, and rejection they experienced. Most saw themselves as partly responsible for their circumstances and many expressed regret looking back on the choices they had made. Many young people described a ‘turning point’ within themselves when they were galvanised into trying to make changes in their situation.

The themes these young people reported are reflected in the literature, where several ethnographic and narrative studies have focused on how young people ‘tell their stories’, the attributions they make about their circumstances and the sense they make of what has happened to them. The lifespan perspective and in particular the concept of ‘transition’ seem particularly applicable to such studies. For example, Holland and Thomson (2009) in a longitudinal qualitative study of young people’s transitions to adulthood, explored how their accounts included ideas of epiphanies, turning points and critical biographical moments.

178

Holland and Thomson (2009, p. 464) cautioned against making assumptions that there is a direct relationship between ‘evidence of the life as told and interpretations of the life as lived’, though they accepted that they have some congruence. Whilst acknowledging this valid point, it is noteworthy that the themes from my study are widespread in the literature, suggesting that many young people tend to interpret their experiences in these ways.

When asked how they felt now that they were in EET, the interviewees

unanimously expressed more positive feelings about themselves in the present than when they were NEET. However, their feelings about their current situation were mixed and many evidently did not feel fully settled in their lives.

Despite their mixed feelings and ongoing uncertainty about their future life trajectory, the overall resilience of these young people was striking. They expressed predominantly positive feelings about their situation ‘now’ such as optimism, motivation, hope, and pride in what they had achieved. Lumby (2012) points out that although there is a prevailing narrative in the literature, of youth as being ‘at risk’ there is also a counter-narrative of youth as often agentive, creative and buoyant.

Although the young people did not regard their period of NEET in a positive light, nearly all of them said they had learned something from the experience, referring to how it had broadened their outlook, helped them to gain positive personal qualities and made them very determined not to allow it to happen again. This difficult experience seemed to have helped their personal growth,

179

but this was perceived in hindsight. Had these young people still been NEET, their perspectives would probably have been much more negative.

The professionals agreed that being NEET was generally more of a negative than a positive experience for young people. They described the adverse impact of being NEET on young people’s motivation, optimism and self-esteem and suggested that for some young people with pre-existing depression and anxiety, being NEET further exacerbated their mental health.

It would be unrealistic in view of the wider literature to exclude any

consideration of ‘risk factors’ in the accounts of the young people I interviewed, although I regarded it as important to balance this with an account of relevant ‘resilience factors’ as advocated by Schoon and Bynner (2003) and others. In line with the research on risk factors associated with being or becoming NEET (for example, Arnold and Baker, 2012; Bynner, 2012), most of the young people I interviewed had experienced similar kinds of adversity in their lives. In many cases they considered that their difficulties were directly linked to subsequently becoming NEET. Some young people were continuing to face significant

adversity, but expressed more positive feelings about managing these problems now that they were in education or employment.

There was also evidence in the young people’s accounts that they benefited from some of the key resilience or protective factors which have been identified through research (Bynner, 2012). Some seemed to possess positive personal qualities such as self belief and optimism; some evidently received warmth,

180

cohesion and emotional support from their families; and some had benefited from environmental protective factors outside the family, such as positive relationships with a caring adult at school or post-sixteen.

SDT also adopts a positive view of people’s capacity for resilience. Ryan and Deci (2000, p. 68) argue ‘that most people show considerable effort, agency, and commitment in their lives appears, in fact, to be more normative than exceptional.’ The three universal conditions that people need in order to develop and thrive – competence, relatedness and autonomy, appear to be closely linked to the concept of resilience. These core concepts have particular resonance in the context of this study. The themes concerning the impact of being NEET on young people’s personal identity, how they viewed themselves and thought others viewed them, their perceptions of the support and

opportunities available to prepare for adult life, and their thoughts about the future, can be conceptualised in terms of competence (the need to feel

confident and effective in one’s actions) and autonomy (the need to behave in a manner congruent with one’s values and interests), while the impact of

significant relationships has obvious links with the concept of relatedness. .

5.3.2 Significant relationships

My third and fourth research questions focused on the young people’s views about factors which had helped or hindered them, in the present and when they were NEET. In the interview they were asked about what had helped or not helped, and how they thought that other people perceived them.

181

A dominant theme in the young people’s accounts was the powerful influence on their emotions and behaviour (both positive and negative) of ‘significant others’ including family, friends and adults outside the family. This was the case both while they were NEET and now they were in EET. I prompted the young people to think broadly about a range of ‘other people’ from those closest to them to others more distant, reflecting the nested ecosystems surrounding an individual in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems (1979) and bio-ecological models (2001).

Some families were perceived as supportive when their child was NEET, despite being worried and frustrated, while others reacted in ways that the young person found unhelpful, for example being very critical or rejecting. Despite these different parental responses, none of the young people experienced a complete breakdown of family relationships, and once they moved onto EET their relationships with their parents improved. However, extremely adverse family circumstances are the reality for a small percentage of young people, and there is a strong association between such difficulties and later becoming NEET (Barnardo’s, 2008).

The young people’s comments revealed that friends were very influential in their lives while they were NEET and since they had moved to EET. Some friends were described as influential in a positive way, for example helping with

practical and emotional support, but others were perceived negatively as being poor role models or lacking understanding of the young person’s work or

182

they had moved onto EET they had outgrown past friends and gained a new set of friends with more similar outlooks and circumstances to their own.

A substantial body of psychological research has explored the diverse impacts of close relationships on human development. In Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model (1979), family and friends are a crucial part of the ‘microsystem’, those groups and institutions which have the most immediate and direct impact on the development of the child and young person. As stated earlier, the

resilience research has identified features of family support which appear to be protective, such as emotional warmth.

SDT (Deci and Ryan, 2000) places a similar emphasis on the importance of ‘significant others’, with its concept of ‘relatedness’ (the universal need to experience and reciprocate love, care and acceptance). Parents play a central role in supporting the young person to develop autonomous motivation, which is associated with more positive outcomes for individuals (Joussemet, Landry and Koestner, 2008). Soenens and Vansteenkiste (2005) found that self-

determination in adolescents was significantly related to the extent to which their parents encouraged them to pursue their own interests and values. The theme of being given the freedom to make their own choices, even if they made mistakes, featured strongly in some young people’s accounts:

I: “so my dad’s, my dad’s one of those people who’d never stop me from doing something he wouldn’t tell me to do something he literally says ‘your choice, you, you choose your mistakes’ like that.”

183 Interviewer: Yes, yeah. And have you found that helpful?

I: “Err yeah because it makes me have to think more about what I’m doing.”

One might speculate whether this type of parental approach compared to a more controlling parental style, helped these particular individuals to develop a strong sense of personal competence and autonomy, and how this might in turn have influenced their coping strategies.

Much research on adolescence and early adulthood highlights the prominent influence of peers in young people’s lives (Cotterell, 2007). SDT has begun to explore the impact of close peer relationships on a person’s autonomous motivation. Deci and Ryan (2008a) cite studies suggesting that friendships can play an important role in developing mutual autonomy support between

individuals. However, as has been identified in relation to support from parents and school staff, the influence of friends could presumably vary, according to the extent to which they are ‘autonomy supportive’ versus ‘controlling’.

In keeping with the evidence that an important protective factor is mentoring or support from an adult outside the family (Phillips, 2010; DuBois et al, 2011; Sheehy, Kumrai and Woodhead, 2011), most of the interviewees referred to a key adult outside the family who had provided them with practical and

psychological support. They spoke in terms of such adults taking a genuine interest in how they were getting on, of having faith in them, giving them the push they needed and acting as a ‘bridge’ to useful information and contacts. As a result, the young people described gaining or regaining their confidence

184

and self-belief. These adults included school and college staff, mentors or tutors; careers and employment advisors from the local authority; mentors in voluntary organisations such as The Prince’s Trust; line managers and other colleagues at work. Some young people had also received brief but supportive input from housing advisors, counsellors and GPs to help with specific practical or emotional difficulties.

All the professionals emphasised the fundamental need for young people in NEET circumstances to build relationships with supportive adults, particularly in situations where families were unable to provide this support. They saw such relationships as providing a ‘secure base’ with the necessary emotional and practical support for young people to develop appropriate employability skills. However the professionals expressed concern about the impact of fundamental changes to their services, on the future quality and scope of the provision they might be able to offer.