Young People's Decisions Research Articles

Young People Decision in Selection of Higher Education Institution: Theory of Planned Behavior Perspective

Young People Decision in Selection of Higher Education Institution: Theory of Planned Behavior Perspective

Future Direction of Identity Research in a Context of Political Struggle: A Critical Appraisal of Erikson

ABSTRACT Identity research has become a prominent field of study in the social sciences, but the conceptualization and measurement of the construct of identity remains contested. Although Erikson’s theoretical work has been extremely influential in directing theory and research over the past 50 years, the theory has elicited a variety of criticisms. In this article, we critically reflect on the application of Erikson’s theory in contexts of social and political struggle. We engage with Eriksonian theory in terms of the debate regarding the relationship between society and the individual. We develop a view of identities as historically contingent contextual discursive performances. Empirical material from two South African studies is presented to illustrate our argument about how the sociopolitical context of struggle and threat shapes and structures the identity aspirations and decisions of young people.

Between Mobility and Belonging: The Meanings of Locality among Youth in Lapland in the Transition to Adulthood

The article analyses mobility and belonging to a place among young people living in rural areas in Finnish Lapland. Our focus is on the meanings of locality when young people make decisions concerning education, work and their living environment. The data consist of 24 interviews of persons in the transition stage to adulthood and in need of support in finding educational or training opportunities. The article highlights the diversity of young people’s aspirations as regards leaving, staying in or returning to their home region. We challenge the cultural discourse urging young people to move to growth centres from sparsely populated areas. Locality was found to play an important role in their lives and transitions. The key factors identified in the decisions of young people were embeddedness in one’s home region and local, social relations and the prospects of meaningful life choices in either the rural or urban context.

THE SOCIAL INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUNG PEOPLE'S DECISIONS: TRNC-NICOSIA EXAMPLE

The youngsters, who are the most important stones of the social structure, are a very important group in terms of political participation. Especially voters who have just completed their 18th birthday and will vote for the first time makes political parties and candidates' agenda busy. Because the mass that we can call the vote or not yet ossified is mostly composed of young people. This becomes even more important because population density is at a level that will determine the outcome of the election in the societies formed by young people. Political campaigners at this point are working on decision making mechanisms of young people, trying to direct them to vote and to influence their final decisions. Social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook are among the tools that political actors use to reach young voters during the election process. In this study, it is aimed to show how important and preliminary the activities conducted on the internet and the social media tools on young people 's voting decisions and the tendency of young people to vote. In line with this aim, a questionnaire was applied to six different provinces of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, through a face-to-face interview, from the universe of young people between the ages of 18 and 29, determined from the number of official voters, In addition, face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with the interview group, which was also formed as a random sample.

Dokonywanie wyboru usługi edukacyjnej na poziomie wyższym – ujęcie teoretyczne

Sektor usług edukacyjnych na poziomie wyższym w warunkach gospodarki rynkowej dynamicznie się powiększył. Jednocześnie prognozy liczebności populacji potencjalnie zainteresowanej kształceniem się w szkolnictwie wyższym w Polsce dowodzą, że będzie ona spadała. Zjawisko to niesie za sobą realne zagrożenie niemożności dalszego funkcjonowania wielu kierunków studiów. W obliczu niekorzystnych trendów demograficznych uczelnie podejmują szereg przedsięwzięć, których celem jest utrzymanie liczby rekrutowanych studentów na względnie zadowalającym poziomie. Jedną z uznawanych obecnie za kluczową strategię optymalizacji prorynkowych działań szkół wyższych jest rozpoznanie mechanizmów podejmowania decyzji o dalszym kształceniu się, motywów wyboru danej uczelni oraz kierunku studiów przez młodych ludzi. Badania wskazują, że taka diagnoza umożliwia i w instytucjonalnej sferze funkcjonowania uczelni, i w aspekcie programowo-organizacyjnym planowanie reform, które skutecznie przyczynią się do wzmocnienia jej pozycji na rynku usług edukacyjnych. Warunkiem realizowania naukowo rzetelnych i aplikacyjnie wartościowych badań czynników wpływających na decyzje edukacyjne młodzieży jest przygotowanie teoretycznych ram do planowania konkretnych empirycznych procedur badawczych. Przegląd publikacji naukowych wskazuje, że obecnie nie ma w literaturze polskiej całościowego opisu mechanizmów preferencji i motywów wyboru usługi edukacyjnej na poziomie wyższym. Celem autorki artykułu jest przedstawianie wyników badań literaturowych, dotyczących teorii wyborów edukacyjnych, stanowiących postawy do zrozumienia mechanizmów procesu podejmowania decyzji tak o podjęciu studiów wyższych w ogóle jak i wyboru ich charakterystyk (uczelnia, kierunek).

Risky behaviour: a new framework for understanding why young people take risks

ABSTRACTTheories of youth risk taking range from the realist to the sociocultural. Much of this theorising, particularly in the field of epidemiology, has been strongly influenced by the Health Belief Framework. More recently, attention has shifted to understanding how young people perceive risk and what makes some of them resilient to risk taking. In this article we develop a framework that brings together diverse theoretical perspectives on youth risk taking. We draw on lessons from across the social science disciplines to inform a conceptual framework incorporating the broad context and internal processes of young people's decisions to take risks. Our Youth Risk Interpretation Framework (Y-RIF) has been developed from insights gained during an ethnographic study conducted in South Africa (Graham, Lauren, 2012. Understanding risk in the everyday identity-work of young people on the East Rand of Johannesburg. Doctoral Thesis. University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg.). We argue that our framework is useful, as it offers new ways of understanding why some young people take risks while others are more cautious. It could be used to inform youth behaviour surveillance research and interventions. However, it will need to be rigorously tested.

Preparing young people for future decision-making about cancer risk in families affected or at risk from hereditary breast cancer: A qualitative interview study.

Women carrying the mutated BRCA gene, have approximately an 80% life-time risk of developing breast cancer with 50% risk of their children inheriting the gene mutation. Many parents find it difficult to know when and how to disclose this information to their children and how such disclosure might affect their child's future decision-making. This study explored the communication of genetic risk information in families using qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted with parents, children (7-11years) and young people (12-18years) affected or at risk from a BRCA gene mutation. Thematic analysis was applied to coded transcripts producing four themes; family communication, perception of cancer risks, risk management strategies and impact of genetic risk communication in children and young people's decision making. Twenty-seven individuals from 11 families took part, recruited through purposive sampling techniques. Cancer risk caused by a BRCA gene mutation induced a sense of fear in parents about their children's future. As a result, parents with hereditary breast cancer disclosed limited information about the risks associated with prophylactic surgery and/or the psychological and emotional impacts of surgery on body image. This had implications to children and young people's perceptions of prophylactic procedures, which were already influenced by cultural understandings of the 'desirable body' and increasing acceptance and proliferation cosmetic surgery. Lack of risk management information and the acculturation of cosmetic surgery combined to limit children and young people's understanding of the impact of hereditary breast cancer; reducing their ability to actualise the physiological, psychological and emotional consequences of surgery.

“Take a gap year!” A social practice perspective on air travel and potential transitions towards sustainable tourism mobility

ABSTRACT It is widely recognized that contemporary tourism mobility, notably flying, is incompatible with sustainability goals. Fundamental changes in travel behaviour are required. Research shows that environmental values have little impact on tourists' travel decisions and that voluntary behaviour change is unlikely. Therefore, policies encouraging transitions to sustainable tourism require a deeper and more context-specific understanding of factors influencing current carbon-intensive travel patterns. This paper responds to this need by adopting a social practice perspective to explore the gap year phenomenon, an increasingly popular activity for the British youth, often involving multiple long-haul flights. The social practice approach positions young people's travel decisions as not being simply individual, but shaped by existing conventions, normative expectations and facilitated/constrained by available resources. The paper draws on the findings from a multi-sited ethnographic study in England, which involved over 30 in-depth interviews with students and other relevant actors, content analysis of gap year materials and participant observation at gap year-related events. Social influences that shape the current long-haul character of gap year travel are examined, and a number of important actors involved in developing, sustaining and reproducing unsustainable behaviours are identified. The implications for policy strategies aimed at changing mobility behaviour are discussed.

Rural and remote young people's health career decision making within a health workforce development program: a qualitative exploration

One strategy aimed at resolving ongoing health workforce shortages in rural and remote settings has been to implement workforce development initiatives involving the early activation and development of health career aspirations and intentions among young people in these settings. This strategy aligns with the considerable evidence showing that rural background is a strong predictor of rural practice intentions and preferences. The Broken Hill Regional Health Career Academy Program (BHRHCAP) is an initiative aimed at addressing local health workforce challenges by helping young people in the region develop and further their health career aspirations and goals. This article reports the factors impacting on rural and remote youths' health career decision-making within the context of a health workforce development program. Data were collected using interviews and focus groups with a range of stakeholders involved in the BHRHCAP including local secondary school students, secondary school teachers, career advisors, school principals, parents, and pre-graduate health students undertaking a clinical placement in Broken Hill, and local clinicians. Data interpretation was informed by the theoretical constructs articulated within socio cognitive career theory. Young people's career decision-making in the context of a local health workforce development program was influenced by a range of personal, contextual and experiential factors. These included personal factors related to young people's career goals and motivations and their confidence to engage in career decision-making, contextual factors related to BHRHCAP program design and structure as well as the visibility and accessibility of health career pathways in a rural setting, and experiential factors related to the interaction and engagement between young people and role models or influential others in the health and education sectors. This study provided theoretical insight into the broader range of interrelating and complex personal, contextual and experiential factors impacting on rural and remote youths' career decision-making within a health workforce development initiative.

Supply of alcohol to underage drinkers: Misperceptions of community norms

RationaleAdult approval and acceptance of alcohol use is highly correlated with underage drinking. Social norms influence young people's decisions to drink alcohol. While there is a dearth of studies to date, it is likely that social norms also influence adults' decisions to provide adolescents with alcohol. ObjectiveThe current study explored the (in)consistencies between own and perceptions of others' views of underage drinking and the provision of alcohol to underage drinkers. MethodsComputer assisted telephone survey of 1160 adults in two communities in New South Wales, Australia. ResultsParents and community members were generally opposed to underage drinking and supply of alcohol to adolescents. Females, older respondents, and those who were parents were significantly more likely to disapprove of both underage drinking and supply of alcohol. However, across all of the behaviours, parents and non-parents alike perceived general community attitudes to be more liberal than their own. ConclusionThere is a need for community-based interventions that target parental misperceptions about the prevalence of youth drinking and the acceptability of drinking and supply of alcohol within their local community.

Factors influencing engagement with case managers: Perspectives of young people with a diagnosis of first episode psychosis.

Holistic treatment during a first episode psychosis (FEP) can significantly impact the longevity and chronicity of the illness, as well as reduce the risk of premature death by suicide. However, treatment can only be effective if the young person participates. Given that 19-40% of young people disengage from early intervention services for FEP, this qualitative study aimed to understand how young people experienced engagement with case managers at an early intervention service. Semistructured interviews were conducted with seven young people and themes were identified using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Young people detailed how engagement with a service could be viewed as a process, following different stages between initial referral and discharge. Throughout this process, a number of factors influenced young people's decision to engage with, or disengage from, their case manager. This created a push-pull dynamic with periods of good engagement and poor engagement. Discussion of this dynamic adds nuance to established scholarship about engagement, including shifts over time in the importance of client empowerment and valued features of therapeutic relationships. Awareness and understanding of these concepts may guide changes to early intervention services and address the core issue of engagement.

Young people's decisions about biologic therapies: who influences them and how?

Objectives. Young people with inflammatory arthritis can have severe disease warranting biologic therapy. They face complex treatment decisions, with profound consequences. This study aimed to explore the influence of individuals outside the care team (trusted others) on the treatment decisions made by young people, in particular their decisions about biologic therapies.Methods. Young people (16–25 years of age) with inflammatory arthritis and experience of treatment decision making were recruited from three NHS Hospital Trusts. Twenty-five were interviewed, plus 11 trusted others identified by young people as being involved in their decision making, as well as 6 health professionals. The data were analysed using coding, memoing and mapping techniques and the findings were tested through a series of focus groups.Results. Young people initially emphasized their decisional autonomy, typically describing people other than health professionals as limited in influence. However, discussions revealed the involvement—in deliberation and enactment—of a range of other people. This cast of trusted others was small and largely consistent; mothers played a particularly prominent role, providing cognitive, practical and emotional support. Members of the wider cast of trusted others were involved in more limited but still significant ways.Conclusion. Young people claim autonomy but other people enable this. The network of relationships in which they are embedded is distinctive and evolving. Mothers play a supporting role well into early adulthood; in contrast, partners are involved in far more limited ways. As such, the applicability of adult models of decision making is unclear. This must be taken into account if the support provided by professionals is to be optimally tailored to young people’s needs.

Young people's decisions about biologic therapies: who influences them and how?

Young people's decisions about biologic therapies: who influences them and how?

The Influence of Relationship Power Dynamics on HIV Testing in Rural Malawi

Using the theory of gender and power (TGP) and data from the Tsogolo la Thanzi (TLT) study, we examined how relationship power shapes young people's decisions to test for HIV in rural Malawi (N=932), a high-HIV prevalence setting undergoing rapid expansions in testing services. We used generalized estimating equations (GEE) to examine associations among five constructs of relationship power (socioeconomic inequalities, relationship dominance, relationship violence, relationship unity, and mistrust), perceived risk, and receiving an HIV test over a 16-month period. The results indicate that young Malawians are testing for HIV at relatively high rates, repeatedly, and not just during pregnancy. Over the study period, 47.3% of respondents received at least one HIV test outside of TLT (range: 0–4). The GEE analysis revealed that men and women with higher levels of relationship unity were less likely to test for HIV. For men, being a victim of sexual coercion was an additional barrier to testing. Women's testing decisions were more strongly influenced by perceptions of a partner's risk for HIV than their own, whereas men relied more on self-assessments. The results highlight that testing decisions are deeply embedded within the relationship context, which should be considered in future HIV testing interventions.

Using the theory of planned behaviour and self‐identity to explain chlamydia testing intentions in young people living in deprived areas

The study sought to (1) explain intentions to get tested for chlamydia regularly in a group of young people living in deprived areas using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB); and (2) test whether self-identity explained additional variance in testing intentions. A cross-sectional design was used for this study. Participants (N=278, 53% male; M=17.05years) living in deprived areas of a UK city were recruited from a vocational education setting. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire, including measures of attitude, injunctive subjective norm, descriptive norm, perceived behavioural control, self-identity, intention and past behaviour in relation to getting tested for chlamydia regularly. The TPB explained 43% of the variance in chlamydia testing intentions with all variables emerging as significant predictors. However, self-identity explained additional variance in intentions (ΔR(2) =.22) and emerged as the strongest predictor, even when controlling for past behaviour. The study identified the key determinants of intention to get tested for chlamydia regularly in a sample of young people living in areas of increased deprivation: a hard-to-reach, high-risk population. The findings indicate the key variables to target in interventions to promote motivation to get tested for chlamydia regularly in equivalent samples, amongst which self-identity is critical. What is already known on this subject? Young people living in deprived areas have been identified as an at-risk group for chlamydia. Qualitative research has identified several themes in relation to factors affecting the uptake of chlamydia testing, which fit well with the constructs of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Identity concerns have also been identified as playing an important part in young people's chlamydia testing decisions. What does this study add? TPB explained 43% of the variance in chlamydia testing intentions and all variables were significant predictors. Self-identity explained additional 22% of the variance in intentions and emerged as the strongest predictor. Indicates key variables to target in interventions to promote regular chlamydia testing in deprived young people.

Noise with attitude: Influences on young people's decisions to protect their hearing

Objective: To investigate young people's experiences and attitudes towards hearing health and their participation in noise reduction behaviours, to better understand how education and prevention messages may be better targeted. Design: An online survey was used to investigate participants’ own hearing health, their engagement with noise reduction behaviour, and their beliefs about hearing health and the risk posed by leisure activities. Study sample: Results are presented for 1000 Australian young adults (18–35 years). Results: Most participants reported current good hearing health, although over a fifth showed possible early warning signs of damage. Approximately half of participants took steps to reduce their noise exposure. However, preventative action was not related to hearing loss symptomology, or perceived personal risk of noise-related damage. Participants’ engagement with hearing health was related to beliefs about the risk posed by leisure noise, hearing health awareness, and the importance of hearing. Conclusions: There is a need to further educate young people about the risks posed to hearing by leisure activity participation and factors that may assist improve hearing health. It is important that hearing health messages move past the traditional emphasis on knowledge, and move towards the use of more personalized motivators of noise reduction behaviour.

To snitch or not to snitch? An exploratory study of the factors influencing whether young people actively cooperate with the police

The death of Adam Regis in March 2007 and subsequent murder investigation highlighted the difficulties of encouraging young people to cooperate with the police by providing information that could lead to a successful conviction. ‘Snitching’, as it is known, is currently an under-explored area of research in the UK with most extant research having been conducted in the US. Therefore this paper attempts partially to fill this gap in the research. Drawing on a recent multi-method qualitative study, involving 24 interviews with young people in one London borough and two focus groups with teachers, police officers and youth workers, this paper seeks to explore the puzzling issue of why young people do not ‘snitch’. In particular, we explore the impact of relationships with the police and the impact of wider social influences – such as young people's concerns about their safety, peer groups, particularly ‘elders’, families and music – on their decision to ‘actively cooperate’ with the police. We argue that peers, specifically ‘olders’, appear to have more influence on a young person's decision to cooperate with the police, than their relationships with the police or the advice from their family. However, the intertwined nature of the influences on young people's decision to cooperate and the importance of trust in the police provide two points of variation with the existing research on procedural justice and police legitimacy. We also demonstrate the benefits of conducting research on policing ‘from within’ and of collaborations between practitioners and academics.

P1-29 Using international evidence to develop a conceptual framework of facilitators and barriers of chlamydia screening service in community pharmacies

IntroductionCommunity pharmacies have recently become more involved in providing chlamydia testing and treatment CT&T. We have reviewed published evidence and developed a conceptual framework regarding facilitators of and barriers to...

Today's pupils, tomorrow's engineers! Pedagogy and policy: a UK perspective

PurposeThis paper aims to provide a critical analysis of UK Government policy in respect of recent moves to attract young people into engineering. Drawing together UK and EU policy literature, the paper considers why young people fail to look at engineering positively.Design/methodology/approachDrawing together UK policy, practitioner and academic‐related literature the paper critically considers the various factors influencing young people's decision‐making processes in respect of entering the engineering profession. A conceptual framework providing a diagrammatic representation of the “push” and “pull” factors impacting young people at pre‐university level is given.FindingsThe discussion argues that higher education in general has a responsibility to assist young people overcome negative stereotypical views in respect of engineering education. Universities are in the business of building human capability ethically and sustainably. As such they hold a duty of care towards the next generation. From an engineering education perspective, the major challenge is to present a relevant and sustainable learning experience that will equip students with the necessary skills and competencies for a lifelong career in engineering. This may be achieved by promoting transferable skills and competencies or by the introduction of a capabilities‐driven curriculum which brings together generic and engineering skills and abilities.Social implicationsIn identifying the push/pull factors impacting young people's decisions to study engineering, this paper considers why, at a time of global recession, young people should select to study the required subjects of mathematics, science and technology necessary to study for a degree in engineering. The paper identifies the long‐term social benefits of increasing the number of young people studying engineering.Originality/valueIn bringing together pedagogy and policy within an engineering framework, the paper adds to current debates in engineering education providing a distinctive look at what seems to be a recurring problem – the failure to attract young people into engineering.

Young people's involvement in service evaluation and decision making

This study examined young people's decision making on issues that affect their lives: bullying in different contexts (e.g., family, peer groups, school) and their involvement in evaluating the availability and effectiveness of support services (e.g., disability, care). Key aims of this study were to offer young people a platform to evaluate existing services and make recommendations towards their improvement, and to discuss ways of tackling bullying at school. Focus groups were formed with 54 young people who had experienced challenges due to bullying, learning difficulties/disabilities, and caring responsibilities for family members with disabling conditions, and discussions about services and decision making on issues that affect their lives were facilitated. The findings point to a sense of agency in young people's lives with regard to evaluating and negotiating services and offering suggestions for their improvement within their family and peers. However, in their view, their decisions regarding bullying exerted limited influence within the school context. These results raised interesting issues about young people's capacity to evaluate services and the contextual influences on their involvement in decision making.