Beliefs of young people about the long-term unemployed in the context of social assistance

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of the article is to present the beliefs of school youth and university students about the long-term unemployed in the field of social assistance, and to identify the selected factors determining such beliefs. Method: The study group consisted of 1084 persons, including 588 secondary school students and 496 university students of social sciences. In order to examine the beliefs of youth about people at risk of social exclusion, the Likert scale was used (A. Kanios, M. Czechowska-Bieluga, A. Weissbrot-Koziarska, R. Krawczyk and P. Zielińska). Results: The beliefs of the respondents are characterised by an average and low level of confidence, lower in the case of the school youth compared to university students, which suggests that there is some degree of ambivalence in the first group, and the risk of revealing stigmatising elements in the second group. Variables such as the level of education, age, sex, and place of residence significantly differentiate the beliefs of the respondents. Conclusions: Considering enormous significance of the secondary school education stage for shaping value and normative foundations for the implementation of future professional tasks, the research results may be used in planning modification activities based, among others, on direct contact with the subject of the attitude. On the other hand, the surveyed university students of social sciences may, in the future, take up employment in various forms of assistance and support for people at risk of social exclusion. Therefore, it is worth minimizing the stigmatising elements in terms of their beliefs towards the unemployed, as those elements may be a factor that interferes with their effective actions.