New Directions in Research on Youth in Transition

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Abstract
New directions in research on youth transitions are examined, with particular reference to the research findings of recent studies from different countries. The convergence of evidence in the studies points to a significant shift of emphasis for the study of youth transitions and the need for a more interactive research process that enables the participants to articulate their own meanings and experiences. One limitation of the studies is that the participants are the ‘successful’ members of the generation, but it is clear from the evidence that the meaning of ‘transition’ has changed in ways that raise questions both about the links between social structures and individual agency and about new definitions of adulthood. Not only do we need to document in greater detail what transition means in the lives of this post-1970 generation, but also we need to ask how their new life-patterns are already responding to or shaping new forms of adulthood.