No. 34 the Transition to Adulthood Is Spain
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Social Studies Collection No. 34 The Transition 34to Adulthood in Spain Economic Crisis and Late Emancipation Almudena Moreno Mínguez (coordinator) Antonio López Peláez Sagrario Segado Sánchez-Cabezudo WELFARE PROJECTS. THE SPirit of ”la Caixa”. Social Studies Collection No. 34 The Transition to Adulthood in Spain Economic Crisis and Late Emancipation Almudena Moreno Mínguez (coordinator) Antonio López Peláez Sagrario Segado Sánchez-Cabezudo With the collaboration of Alberto Juliá Cano Enrique Crespo Ballesteros Published by ”la Caixa” Welfare Projects Governing Bodies of ”la Caixa” Welfare Projects WELFARE PROJECTS COMMITTEE Chairman Isidro Fainé Casas Deputy Chairman Salvador Gabarró Serra, Javier Godó Muntañola Members Montserrat Cabra Martorell, Francesc Homs Ferret, Xavier Ibarz Alegria, Juan-José López Burniol, Mario López Martínez, Justo Bienvenido Novella Martínez Secretary (non trustee) Alejandro García-Bragado Dalmau Deputy Secretary (non trustee) Óscar Calderón de Oya Managing Director Juan María Nin Génova Executive Director of ”la Caixa” Welfare Projects Jaime Lanaspa Gatnau BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE ”la Caixa” FOUNDATION Chairman Isidro Fainé Casas Honorary Chairman José Vilarasau Salat 1st Deputy Chairman Ricardo Fornesa Ribó Deputy Chairman Salvador Gabarró Serra, Javier Godó Muntañola, Juan Maria Nin Génova Trustees Eva Aurín Pardo, Victoria Barber Williams, Maria Teresa Bassons Boncompte, Montserrat Cabra Martorell, José Francisco de Conrado i Villalonga, Josep-Delfí Guàrdia Canela, Monika Habsburg Lothringen, Francesc Homs Ferret, Xavier Ibarz Alegria, Juan-José López Burniol, Mario López Martínez, Maria Dolors Llobet María, Estefanía Judit Martín Puente, Miquel Noguer Planas, Justo Bienvenido Novella Martínez, Jordi Portabella Calvete, Ana Robles Gordaliza, Leopoldo Rodés Castañé, Josep Joan Simón Carreras, Javier Solana Madariaga, Roberto Tapia Conyer, Josep-Francesc Zaragozà Alba Managing Director Jaime Lanaspa Gatnau Secretary (trustee) Alejandro García-Bragado Dalmau Deputy Secretary (trustee) Óscar Calderón de Oya Publication The Transition to Adulthood in Spain: Economic Crisis and Late Emancipation Design and production ”la Caixa” Welfare Projects Publication Author Almudena Moreno Mínguez (coordinator) Antonio López Peláez Sagrario Segado Sánchez-Cabezudo Design and layout CEGE Printing Publidisa Translated by Jed Rosenstein Coordination of publication: Fellowship Programs and Social Studies © Almudena Moreno Mínguez, Antonio López Peláez © ”la Caixa” Welfare Projects, 2012 Av. Diagonal, 621 - 08028 Barcelona The opinions expressed in the documents in this collection are ISBN: 978-84-9900-070-1 the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily D.L.: B22080-2012 reflect those of the ”la Caixa” Foundation. ALMUDENA MORENO MÍNGUEZ is Professor of Sociology at the University of Valladolid, Spain. She has a PhD in sociology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and is the author of many publications on young people, family change, welfare states and the situation of women. She has been a visiting scholar at Oxford University, the University of Turin, the University of Chicago and the University of Gothenburg. Most recently she edited the monograph «Family well-being: European perspectives» (Social Indicators Research 49, 2012), and she has published articles in European Societies, Revista de Educación and Young: Nordic Journal of Youth Research, among others. She is the co-author of the Informe de Juventud [Youth Report] 2008. ANTONIO LÓPEZ PELÁEZ is a Full Professor of Social Work and Social Services in the Department of Social Work, Faculty of Law, of the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, UNED [National Distance Education University], the largest public university in Spain. He has a PhD in Philosophy and Sociology. His research interests include: analysis of social problems of interculturality, methods of social intervention, intersections of new technologies and social work. He has been visiting scholar at the School of Social Welfare (University of California, Berkeley, USA), the University at Potsdam (Germany) and Americana University in Nicaragua. He is the director of Comunitania. International Journal of Social Work and Social Sciences. He recently served as editor of the monograph «Juventud y trabajo social» [Youth and Social Work], (Revista de Estudios de Juventud 97, 2012). SAGRARIO SEGADO SÁNCHEZ-CABEZUDO is an assistant professor of Social Work and Social Services at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, UNED [National Distance Education University]. He has a PhD in social work and a bachelor’s degree in psychology. His research is focused on the analysis of social problems in families, youth and childhood and on methods of social intervention. He has been a visiting researcher at the University of California and the University of Potsdam. His recent publications include Nuevas tendencias en trabajo social con familias: una propuesta para la práctica desde el empowerment [New trends in social work with families: a proposal for an empowerment-based practice] (2011). Table of Contents Presentation 11 Introduction 13 Background and justification for the study 13 Hypothesis, objectives and methodology 15 Structure of the study 18 I. Theoretical framework: the interpretative context of transitions to adulthood 20 1.1. Major theoretical paradigms on transitions to adulthood 21 1.2. Destandardisation and individualisation: the new situation of young people 27 1.3. Transitional models in different types of welfare regimes 32 II. The processes of transition to adulthood in Europe from a comparative perspective 38 2.1. Attitudinal profiles toward transitions to adulthood: a typological analysis 39 2.2. Social assessment of transitional markers of entry into adulthood 41 2.3. Lifestyles of Europe’s young people 51 2.4. School to work transitions among young people in Europe 57 III. Family and residential transitions 70 3.1. Emancipation and residential transitions of young people in Spain 70 3.2. Determining factors in emancipation paths in times of crisis 77 3.3. Forming a couple and a family 87 3.4. Lifestyles and family typologies 94 IV. School to work transitions and health 101 4.1. Young people’s transitions by education level and gender 103 4.2. Integration in the labour market, professional careers and overqualification 116 4.3. Young people’s health 123 4.4. The importance of education, employment and health 134 V. Young people’s transitions, social services and policies 137 5.1. Social policy and young people’s transitions 141 5.2. Young people, participation and failed transitions: What is the role of social services? 150 5.3. Social services and preventing vulnerability in young people 156 5.4. From social services to NGOs: a two-way street? 159 5.5. The need for youth policies in times of economic crisis 162 Conclusion 163 General conclusions 163 Specific conclusions 166 Challenges for the 21st century 171 Methodological appendix 176 Bibliography 180 Index of tables and graphs 195 Presentation Youth is the stage in life in which individuals prepare to assume the responsibilities of adulthood, define their life projects and establish their future priorities and objectives. To accomplish these things young people must have opportunities and incentives that stimulate and foster their personal development and engage them in becoming active participants in the improvement of society. The educational opportunities and personal and consumer freedoms of young people today are incomparably greater than those of their parents and grandparents. However, uncertainties about the future and the diversity of possible life paths have turned the transition to adulthood into a complex and potentially difficult process. For example, in recent decades we have seen a significant delay in the age at which young people take on the tasks and functions traditionally associated with adult life. In Spain, statistics indicate that on average young people do not leave their parents’ home until they are close to thirty years old. At the same time, as it has become more difficult to find a stable job that provides the resources needed to become independent, the years dedicated to education and training have increased. As a consequence, many young couples end up delaying having children until they are well into their thirties. The economic and employment crisis that Spain has been suffering since 2008 has increased the difficulty of the transition to adulthood, reducing opportunities and increasing insecurity. This lack of opportunity can undermine the confidence young people need to construct viable projects to achieve independence, thus, increasing the risk of social exclusion and conflict with older generations. 11 The authors of this study review the main processes involved in the transition to adulthood among Spanish young people. They do so from a dual perspective. First, they compare the Spanish situation with that of other European countries, distinguishing different models and identifying the specificities of the Spanish case. Secondly, they analyse the extent to which the economic crisis is transforming, or perhaps accentuating, certain tendencies in the way young people approach adult responsibilities. The authors also analyse youth policies and their effectiveness in facilitating the process of insertion of young people into society. Their analysis focuses on governments at the local, regional and national levels, together with a review of European Union policy.