An article examined the concept of 'emerging adulthood - a new stage of the life-course between adolescence and adulthood. It used cohort comparisons across three longitudinal studies (starting in 1946, 1958 and 1970) to demonstrate rising opportunities for young people accompanied by increased social inequality.
Source: John Bynner, 'Rethinking the youth phase of the life-course: the case for emerging adulthood?': Subtitle, Journal of Youth Studies, Volume 8 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-Dec
A report examined attitudes to behaviour and life choices among young people in Northern Ireland. It analyzed such attitudes by key demographic characteristics, the relationships between them, and comparisons with similar data available from England and Wales.
Source: Mary Mullan and Christopher Alan Lewis, Attitudes to Behaviours and Life Choices among Young People in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (028 9034 8160)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Dec
An article examined young people's status as citizens. It called for a more conceptually comprehensive and inclusive view of citizenship, so that young people's status as citizens could be better appreciated.
Source: Noel Smith, Ruth Lister, Sue Middleton and Lynne Cox, 'Young people as real citizens: towards an inclusionary understanding of citizenship': Subtitle, Journal of Youth Studies, Volume 8 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-Dec
The government launched a pilot scheme under which young people aged 15-20 from disadvantaged communities would be trained to be advisers on local decisions affecting them. The young advisers would show community leaders and local decision-makers how to engage other young people in community life, regeneration and renewal.
Source: Press release 9 November 2005, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000)
Links: ODPM press release
Date: 2005-Nov
A report outlined new cross-government action to help young adults (aged 16-25) with complex needs - such as homelessness, drug misuse, and mental health problems. The new measures were designed to give disadvantaged young adults the opportunity to break out of a downward cycle of social exclusion, and make a successful start to adult life.
Source: Transitions: Young Adults with Complex Lives, Social Exclusion Unit/Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 5550)
Links: Report | SEU press release | YMCA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Nov
A collection of essays examined ways of prioritizing the needs of children and young people in the design of neighbourhoods.
Source: Play, Participation and Potential: Putting young people at the heart of communities, Groundwork UK (0121 236 8565)
Links: Report | Groundwork press release
Date: 2005-Nov
A study found that young people's view of good citizenship was far broader than voting: taking part in activities to benefit the community and the environment, and obeying the law, ranked higher in importance.
Source: Helen Haste, My Voice My Vote, My Community: A study of young people s civic action and inaction, Nestl Social Research Programme (020 7388 9988)
Links: Report | NSAP press release
Date: 2005-Nov
A new book examined how young people became disconnected from society's mainstream, and whether ideas about social exclusion or a welfare-dependent underclass connected with their lived experiences.
Source: Robert MacDonald and Jane Marsh, Disconnected Youth: Growing up in Britain's poor neighbourhoods, Palgrave Macmillan (01256 329242)
Links: Summary
Date: 2005-Oct
A report said that local authorities in Scotland had some way to go in making participation in community planning a practical reality for young people.
Source: Terry Barber and Mike Naulty, Your Place or Mine?: A research study exploring young people s participation in community planning, Centre for Research in Community Learning and Development/University of Dundee, available from YouthLink Scotland (0131 313 2488
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Oct
The government published a Bill putting a new duty on election administrators to make sure as many people as possible were registered to vote in Parliamentary constituencies. The Bill also proposed new ways to tackle fraud, allowed better access to the election process, and reduced the age at which people could stand for election from 21 to 18. It was given a second reading.
Source: Electoral Administration Bill, Department for Constitutional Affairs, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 25 October 2005, columns 193-276, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | DCA press release | HOC Library research paper (pdf) | Electoral Commission press release | ERS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Oct
An article reported on a survey which asked young people aged 16 in Northern Ireland about their attitudes to, and experiences of, community relations.
Source: Dirk Schubotz and Paula Devine, 'What now?: exploring community relations among 16-year olds in Northern Ireland', Shared Space, October 2005, Community Relations Council (028 9022 7500)
Links: Article (pdf)
Date: 2005-Oct
A report said that younger adults might be acquiring the habit of non-voting, raising the long-term possibility of a generation of non-voters. It also showed that while postal voting was the voting method of choice for many people, 46 per cent considered it to be unsafe, as did one-fifth of those who actually voted by post.
Source: Election 2005: Turnout, How many, who and why?, Electoral Commission (020 7271 0500)
Links: Report (pdf) | Electoral Commission press release
Date: 2005-Oct
A survey of young people in Scotland provided a baseline for monitoring young people s participation in youth work and other activities.
Source: MORI Scotland, Being Young in Scotland 2005: Young people's participation in youth work, arts, culture and sport, Scottish Executive, (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Sep
A report said that young people in Wales were falling further and further behind in their attempts to get on to the property ladder: for younger working households the average house price to income ratio had reached 4 to 1.
Source: Steve Wilcox, Young, Working and Homeless?: Younger working households in Wales and the affordability crisis, Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru (029 2076 5760)
Links: Report (pdf) | Report (pdf) (Welsh) | CIH press release
Date: 2005-Sep
A report said that young people faced rising debts, great difficulty in getting on the housing ladder, falling returns from higher education, and fierce competition in the labour market. At the same time recent public spending and tax increases meant that they faced an unfairly high burden of taxation compared to older people.
Source: Nick Bosanquet and Blair Gibbs, Class of 2005: The Ipod generation Insecure, pressured, over-taxed and debt-ridden, Reform (020 7799 6699)
Links: Report (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Aug
A report said that young people were more likely to participate in informal social activities, and to have larger social support networks, than people aged 25 and over. However they were less likely to participate in social, civic, and voluntary activities, and were less interested in political issues than people aged 25 and over.
Source: Penny Babb and Figen Deviren, Young People and Social Capital, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Aug
The government published a Green Paper on young people. It set out a comprehensive package of measures aimed at improving outcomes for all young people, with a particular emphasis on those who were disadvantaged. An independent charitable body would be established to implement the recommendations of the Russell Commission.
Source: Youth Matters, Green Paper Cm 6629, Department for Education and Skills, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Green Paper (pdf) | DfES press release | Hansard | Russell Commission report (pdf) | NCVYS press release (pdf) | NYA press release | YMCA press release | NCB press release
Date: 2005-Jul
A report examined how young people could become involved in the political life of their communities.
Source: Bernie Flanagan, Jennifer Philpott, Catherine Reid and Damien Gilchrist, Democracy through Citizenship, Institute for Citizenship (020 7844 5444)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jul
A report said that much of what was offered to young people in the name of ?active citizenship? lacked appeal, because it seemed to be remote from their everyday experience.
Source: Stephen Coleman with Chris Rowe, Remixing Citizenship: Democracy and young people's use of the internet, Carnegie Young People Initiative (020 7401 5460)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jun
A new book sought to identify and analyze the factors which promoted or discouraged social inclusion of young people in contemporary society.
Source: Monica Barry (ed.), Youth Policy And Social Inclusion: Critical debates with young people, Routledge (01264 343071)
Links: Summary
Date: 2005-Jun
A report examined ways to provide affordable housing which focused on the needs of socially excluded young people. It called for housing that offered a place to live, and an investment in the sustainability of local communities. Despite popular perceptions that young people wanted to leave their communities, over three-quarters of those questioned wanted to remain in their local area.
Source: Firm Foundations, Centrepoint (020 7426 5300)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jun
A report said that young adults were finding it much harder to become independent of their parents, due to increased housing and education costs, higher levels of debt, the decline of the youth labour market, and the age-structuring of state benefits. Parents were expected to provide continuing economic support during their children s increasingly lengthy transitions into independence.
Source: Gill Jones, Young Adults and the Extension of Economic Dependence: Implications for families, National Family and Parenting Institute (020 7424 3460)
Links: Report (pdf) | NFPI press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-May
A report examined the social-demographic characteristics of young adults (aged 16-24) in Northern Ireland, and their living standards.
Source: Fiona Scullion and Paddy Hillyard, Young Adults in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 0500)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-May
A study explored the experience of young Bangladeshi people growing up in a northern English city, highlighting the particular issues they faced by comparing their experiences with those of young white people.
Source: Mairtin Mac an Ghaill and Chris Haywood, Young Bangladeshi People's Transition to Adulthood, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report (pdf) | JRF Findings 0195
Date: 2005-Apr
Researchers examined the attitudes of young people taking part in five projects which aimed, through a variety of approaches, to combat racism. There were signs of success in influencing behaviour in a positive way including those working with offenders who have committed racially motivated offences. But the attitudes of young people attending schools in multi-cultural areas were found to be less, rather than more, tolerant than others.
Source: Gerard Lemos, The Search for Tolerance: Challenging and changing racist attitudes and behaviour in young people, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report (pdf) | JRF Findings 0135 | JRF press release
Date: 2005-Mar
A plan was published to encourage volunteering by a million more young people - half the 16-25 population. It proposed the creation of up to 12,000 new full-time volunteering opportunities, 80,000 new part-time placements, and 300,000 'taster' activities for young people. The government responded by announcing (in the Budget) the creation of a national community service scheme for young people.
Source: Ian Russell, National Framework for Youth Action and Engagement, Russell Commission, available from Active Communities Directorate/Home Office (020 7035 5328) | Press release 16 March 2005, HM Treasury (020 7270 4558)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | Russell Commission press release (1) (pdf) | HMT press release | Russell Commission press release (2) (pdf) | CSV press release | Volunteering England press release | Young People Now report
Date: 2005-Mar
A report presented the main findings from a children s (8-10 years) and young people s (11-15 years) survey which was an extension to the main 2003 Home Office Citizenship Survey. Most young people played an active role in their communities, providing informal and formal help within their homes and families, and to the wider community.
Source: Christine Farmer with Sara Trikha, Children, Young People and their Communities: Summary of top-level findings from 2003 Home Office Citizenship Survey, Research Report RW29, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260) and Home Office
Links: Report (pdf) | Brief (pdf)
Date: 2005-Feb
An evaluation of a post-16 citizenship development programme said that the government should devise clear policies on citizenship education for the 16-19 age group.
Source: Rachel Craig, David Kerr, Pauline Wade and Graham Taylor, Taking Post-16 Citizenship Forward: Learning from the post-16 citizenship development projects, Research Report 604, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report (pdf) | Brief (pdf) | LSDA press release (pdf) | Young People Now report
Date: 2005-Feb
A report called on the government to do more to support young disabled people in Northern Ireland. It made recommendations designed to encourage improved support in relation to youth-work practice.
Source: Hazel Gordon, The Importance of Being Inclusive, Disability Action (028 9029 7880)
Links: Ulster University press release
Date: 2005-Jan
An article examined the problem of childhood in social policy through an examination of the conflicting messages emerging out of family policy and anti-social behaviour policies. Policies relating to children could learn from children's private experience of responsibility in the home, and from the complex and rich ways in which children understood the moral and relational components of responsibility.
Source: Elizabeth Such and Robert Walker, 'Young citizens or policy objects? Children in the "rights and responsibilities" debate', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 34 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-Jan
The government launched a programme to raise volunteer numbers among young people by 1 million to 4 million. It said that it wanted half of all young people to volunteer in the community, and planned to extend schemes under which they received public money if they spent their gap year in local voluntary work.
Source: Press release 31 January 2005, HM Treasury (020 7270 4558)
Links: HMT press release | Text of speech | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Jan
An article drew on material from five advocacy projects for children and young people to examine how advocacy was constructed by those involved in the provision and receipt of services. It argued that there was a danger that the construction of advocacy in an adult, 'proceduralized', way was likely to compromise its potential to challenge the structures that denied young people opportunities to participate in decision-making about their lives.
Source: Jane Dalrymple, 'Constructions of child and youth advocacy: Emerging issues in advocacy practice', Children & Society, Volume 19 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-Jan
A report outlined the views of 130 young people on politics, politicians, and a wide range of social issues from drugs to bullying.
Source: 'Give us a Chance : Young people s views on social issues, Barnardo s (01268 520224)
Links: Report (pdf) | Barnardo's press release
Date: 2005-Jan
The government announced that it intended to legislate, when parliamentary time allowed, to lower the age at which a candidate could stand for election from 21 to 18 years.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 27 January 2005, column 23WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard
Date: 2005-Jan