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NAERINGSPH-Nærings-phd

Individual and environmental resources in young adults as determinants for integration in working life

Awarded: NOK 1.7 mill.

Project Manager:

Project Number:

208173

Project Period:

2011 - 2017

Funding received from:

Completion of secondary education is important for future health and work participation. During the past decade there has been a marked increase in young adults prematurely leaving the labor force due to disability pensions, especially among young non-completers of secondary education. This increase in early work-life exit is a major public health challenge and a threat to the Nordic welfare model that depends on high employment rates. The individual lifetime consequences of early work disability are substantial in terms of health and well being, social and economic marginalization. Moreover, young adults who rely on social insurance benefits most of their life-course place a high socioeconomic burden on their societies. The fact that an increasing amount of young adults leave the labor force in young adulthood will lead to a society with major health and socioeconomic differences. To gain knowledge about the causes and mechanisms behind school non-completion and DP receipt in young adulthood is essential for the continuity of the welfare state and for the health and wellbeing of the individual. The risk of school non-completion and DP receipt in young adulthood is, in additions to individual characteristics, strongly influenced by the contextual effects of family background and local community. These associations are, however, not necessarily the same for all people and certain personal characteristics and features of the social environment may act as moderators. This study explores social inequalities in the transition from education to work among young adults. Based on a life course perspective, we consider, in addition to individual characteristics, the contextual influences of family background and area of residence in the completion of secondary education and risk for DP receipt in young adulthood. An important aim was to investigate whether these contextual influences affect different subgroups of the population differently. The study is based on a 30 % random and stratified sample of the Norwegian population aged 18?40 years in 2010 (N=395,514) extracted from Statistic Norway´s population registries. Longitudinal information on socio-demography and residential identifiers were obtained for the individual as well as for the parents. Additionally, data of a group of young adults attending a vocational rehabilitation program was linked on an individual level to data from national population registries in the period 2003 to 2010. The study has a quantitative approach and use, in addition to conventional regression analyzes, multi-level models with explanatory factors both on the individual, family and residential level. Overall, the findings underline the growing importance of completing secondary education for a successful education to work transition in today?s modern labour market. There are some clear indications that the family context and childhood phase are particularly important for promoting and facilitating education, health and well being of young adults. There is a strong association between school non-completion and receipt of disability pension in young adulthood. However, the local socioeconomic conditions have a substantial impact on this relationship. Apparently, as more people in a society achieve greater formal qualifications, the potential marginalization and barriers into the job market for those with limited formal education increases. Young individuals from disadvantageous family background with low education level and weak connections to work life lack, to a large extent, both formal education, skills and social/professional networks necessary to enter the current labor market. Thus, future measures should meet the needs of vulnerable groups of the population and assist specific groups in achieving the necessary skills. In this context, greater emphasis should be placed on the children?s families and childhood conditions to ensure a healthy development that includes both education and employment.

Bakgrunn og formål: Det er et stort behov for mer kunnskap om den økende drop-out problematikken i skole og arbeidsliv blant unge voksne. Gode tiltak som fremmer integrering i arbeidslivet krever en inngående biopsykososial forståelse der biologiske, psyk ologiske og sosiale aspekter sees i sammenheng. Basert på en salutogen tilnærming med fokus på motstandsressurser og faktorer som støtter menneskelig helse, har vi som formål i denne studien å øke kunnskapen om hva som kjennetegner den vellykkede prosesse n der unge voksne blir aktive deltakere på sentrale områder i samfunnet og å bidra til bedre og mer effektive rehabiliterings- og behandlingsregimer for denne målgruppen. Metode: Det er planlagt fire delprosjekter i PhD-arbeidet hvor de tre første delpro sjektene er retrospektive kvantitativ studier basert på helsedata hentet fra FD trygd, Folkeregistret, Reseptregistret, Helseundersøkelsen i Nord-Trøndelag (HUNT) og Friskgårdsdatabasen. Det siste delprosjektet er en prospektiv kvantitativ og kvalitativ studie basert på helsedata hentet fra Friskgårdens program Ungdom på alvor. Prosjektorganisering: Det inngås samarbeid mellom NTNU, Arnhild Myhr (stipendiat) og Friskgården. Kandidaten følger doktorgradsutdanningen ved NTNU og det er planlagt å fullføre doktorgraden i løpet av fire år med 25% pliktarbeid i bedriften. Friskgården i Stod ble etablert i 1994 og er i dag en av flere aktører i et nettverk av friskgårder og fagteam i Norge. Frisknett, et nettverk med fellestjenester for friskgårdene, sørger fo r felles utdanning for fagpersoner, felles adminstrative og økonomiske systemer, felles kvalitetssikring og internkontroll og felles FoU-arbeid. Friskgårdene bygger på en helsefremmende (salutogen) tilnærming rettet mot mennesker og miljøer med tanke på å fremme robusthet både hos friske mennesker og miljøer samt mennesker som er i risiko for eller sliter med sammensatte problemstillinger. Å styrke menneskers robusthet til å mestre et arbeidsliv er sentralt.

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Funding scheme:

NAERINGSPH-Nærings-phd