Disadvantaged neighbourhoods and young people not in education, employment or training at the ages of 18 to 19 in England

Abstract

ABSTRACTThere is a growing interest among researchers in the impact of locality on young people who are inactive and not engaged in education, employment or training (NEETs). Previous research on this, however, is rather limited and does not account for a number of characteristics that mediate the effects of disadvantaged neighbourhoods on transition outcomes. This study investigates the effects of neighbourhood context on young people who experience NEET status at the ages 18 to 19 in one cohort born in 1989/90 in the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE). The analyses control for a wide range of factors which may affect NEET status. Drawing on previous sociological theories, we develop a theoretical framework that specifies four levels of influence on young people’s development: individual, family, school and peer group characteristics. Potential pathways between neighbourhood context and individual outcomes are explored using a logistic regression model. We demonstrate that there is a higher probability for young people who live in high-crime areas to become NEETs in comparison to those who live in less-deprived areas.