Poverty and the social participation of young people—an analysis of poverty-related withdrawal mechanisms

Abstract

This paper analyses poverty-specific withdrawal mechanisms of children and adolescents. A lower social participation rate in extracurricular organisations decreases opportunities for informal learning and consequently reduces life chances. Poverty research has demonstrated that financial constraints and the social withdrawal that result from feelings of shame cause lower participation rates. By dividing extracurricular leisure activities into fee-based and noncontributory activities, it is possible to discriminate between the two mechanisms. Our empirical crosssectional analysis is based on the panel study “Labour Market and Social Security” (PASS). The results demonstrate that primarily financial shortages explain decreased participation opportunities and to a substantially lesser extent social withdrawal. Additionally, the findings suggest that social deprivation occurs only in situations of long-lasting poverty.