Syftet med studien har varit att ta reda på de idéer som unga vuxna (18-24 år) med psykiskt funktionshinder har kring hur en sysselsättningsverksamhet skulle vara uppbyggd och om det är möjligt att någon form av organiserad verksamhet kan hjälpa dem i övergången till vuxenlivet. Metoden som användes var en kvalitativ intervjustudie. Urvalet var fem personer, tre män och två kvinnor, som har kontakt med Stockholms läns landstings öppenpsykiatriska mottagning eller Täby kommuns socialpsykiatriska enhet. Teoretiska utgångspunkter har varit symbolisk interaktionism. I studien kan utläsas att det är viktigt för gruppen unga vuxna med psykiskt funktionshinder att få möjlighet till ett socialt liv utanför hemmet. Några känner sig ensamma med sin problematik, men menar att det skulle gå lättare om de fick stöd och hjälp att ta sig vidare av någon som förstår deras problematik och kan finnas till hands när de behöver extra stöd. Ett resultat är att de unga vuxna tycker det är av vikt att få stöd med studier och arbete i övergången till vuxenlivet och att det inom dessa verksamheter finns människor som tar hänsyn till deras funktionshinder. Ytterligare ett resultat visar att de unga vuxna upplever att det är svårt att få den hjälp de behöver. Slutsatsen är att det behövs ett närmare samarbete mellan landsting och kommun, kanske i en ny organisation som skulle kunna erbjuda både medicinska och rehabiliterande åtgärder för att kunna erbjuda unga vuxna en bra verksamhet. En sådan verksamhet skulle även kunna inrymma samarbete med övriga aktörer som arbetsförmedling, försäkringskassa, gymnasium och högskola.

Abbiamo esaminato il ruolo della separazione coniugale e del genere nello spiegare il coinvolgimento in processi familiari disfunzionali, le difficoltà di separazione-individuazione e il benessere psicologico dei figli giovani adulti. È stata privilegiata la dimensione etica dei rapporti tra le generazioni, espressa nelle percezioni di giustizia e cura nelle relazioni familiari. Un primo studio, quantitativo, è stato condotto su un campione di 264 soggetti tra i 20 e i 30 anni, provenienti da nuclei separati e intatti, a cui è stato somministrato un questionario self report. I figli di separati tendono ad esprimere più marcatamente sentimenti di ingiustizia relativi alla famiglia d'origine, e ad enfatizzare la propria indipendenza affettiva dai genitori. Le femmine esprimono un maggiore sovraccarico legato alla cura emotiva dei familiari, riportano tendenze depressive e più intensi timori di perdere l'affetto dei genitori . Nel secondo studio, sperimentando un approccio metodologico composito, abbiamo approfondito il tema dei confini generazionali e delle difficoltà di separazione-individuazione in un piccolo campione di giovani donne provenienti da genitori separati. Abbiamo riscontrato che la transizione all'età adulta risulta rallentata dalle responsabilità di cura assunte verso la madre, o al contrario accelerato, nel bisogno di prendere le distanze da lei. Nel terzo studio, illustrando alcuni dei risultati emersi attraverso l'analisi di due casi, abbiamo rilevato la significatività della funzione paterna per la separazione delle figlie nei nuclei monogenitoriali successivi alla separazione coniugale. / We examined the role of parental divorce and gender in young adults' involvement in dysfunctional family processes, as well as in their difficulties of separation-individuation and their psychological well-being. The first study is quantitative and was conducted with a sample of 264 subjects, aged between 20 and 30, who filled in a self report questionnaire. Results showed that children of divorced parents express more feelings of unfairness towards their family of origin, and emphasize their emotional independence from their parents. Females feel the burden of emotional caregiving for their parents more than males and are more vulnerable to depression. Moreover, females are more afraid of losing their parents' love. In the second study we used a mixed method approach to study generational boundaries and separation-individuation difficulties in a small sample of young women with divorced parents. Results showed that the transition to adulthood may either be hindered by the emotional burden of children's responsibilities towards the parents (especially the mother) or accelerated by the need to put one's familiar experience at a distance. In the third study, through two case studies, we explored some of the results obtained in the multimethodological section. This analysis suggested the importance of considering the role of the paternal function in helping young women separate from their mothers in single parent families.

Questo lavoro di tesi ha come obiettivo generale quello di indagare attraverso un modello multidimensionale come le Felt Obligation, definite nelle dimensioni del mantenimento dei contatti e dei rituali familiari, del ricambiare nella relazione per ciò che si è ricevuto e del personal sharing, si delineano e si costruiscono nelle relazioni familiari. Il primo studio è di carattere strettamente psicometrico ed è volto a definire la struttura fattoriale della Felt Obligation Measure nel contesto italiano. La Felt Obligation Measure rappresenta a tutt’oggi l’unico strumento presente in letteratura che permette di valutare ciò che le persone sentono (felt) essere gli obblighi da assolvere nelle loro relazioni familiari. Il secondo studio è volto ad indagare le possibili implicazioni a livello generazionale e individuale delle Felt Obligation in due differenti generazioni (generazione di mezzo e giovani adulti); sono quindi indagate sia variabili di outcome qualificanti le relazioni familiari quali la soddisfazione e l’identità familiare sia variabili di adattamento individuale come autostima, depressione e benessere psicologico. Infine, il terzo studio è dedicato allo studio delle Felt Obligation nelle famiglie di giovani adulti. La transizione all’età adulta nel contesto italiano è caratterizzata da una prolungata co-abitazione di due generazioni adulte. Obiettivo del lavoro è pertanto approfondire il ruolo delle Felt Obligation per capire come esse diventino parte qualificante della relazione genitori – figli in questa fase del ciclo di vita e come siano legate a specifiche variabili del funzionamento familiare, quali soddisfazione e identità familiare. / The general aim of this research is to investigate, through a multi-dimensional model, how Felt Obligation, defined in the dimensions of maintenance contacts and family rituals, repayment in the relationship and personal sharing, are delineated and build in family relationships. First study’s aim is to identify the factorial structure of Felt Obligation Measure in the Italian context. Felt Obligation Measure is the only instrument in literature by which people could report feelings about their obligations to fulfill in their family relationships. Second study’s aim is to investigate the generational and individual implications of Felt Obligation into two different generations (middle – adults and young adults). Finally, the third study is aimed to examine Felt Obligation in young adults’ families . The transition to adulthood in Italy is characterized by a prolonged co-habitation of two generations of adults; therefore the aim is to enhance the role of Felt Obligation in this specific phase of the life cycle and how they are linked to specific variables of family functioning (family satisfaction and family identity).

The aim of this study was to investigate the leaving care services provided to youth leaving residential care in Sweden. Through the use of qualitative research interviews residential care workers perception of what practical and emotional needs youth leaving care have, and whether current aftercare services meet these needs, were examined. The study further sought to compare the swedish and english leaving care services. The main findings of the study were that the residential care workers interviewed expressed that they had a good working relationship with the local social services and that they through the residential care services were able to provide some degree of aftercare. They further identified loneliness as the most prominent emotional need of youth had after leaving care. The most pressing practical need youth leaving care were described as help concerning apartment and job searching, how and when to pay bills as well as managing a budget. The residential care staff further conveyed a wish for a higher degree of regulation surrounding aftercare services. Their main reasoning was to assure that youth leaving care received aftercare regardless of the economic situation of the local municipalities.

The unsatisfactory achievement of adult competency among emerging adults aging out of foster care is well documented. However few studies have examined how development within the child welfare system impacts the ability to achieve competence. In this study, homeless emerging adults who had not aged out of foster care were compared to peers who were homeless and aged out of foster care. The child welfare system is a unique environment with its own policies. In order to better understand the process of development within the child welfare system, the current study used life course developmental theory to understand how the child welfare system affects the development of children and their ability to achieve competencies. Specifically, the role of learned helplessness in influencing the developmental trajectory of children aging out of foster care was examined. The data were collected utilizing participatory action research methods and the use of this methodology among homeless emerging adults is explored. The current study analyzes data collected by the Texas Network of Youth Services. The study examined issues surrounding the transition to adulthood among homeless emerging adults using a participatory action research methodology. The sample included emerging adults 18 to 25 years old who were homeless (n=134). A subset of the sample aged out of foster care. The results indicated that, 1) homeless emerging adults who have not aged out of foster care may be an appropriate comparison group for those who have aged out, 2) homeless emerging adults who aged out of foster care were more likely to have a perception of learned helplessness that may impede their ability to achieve adult competency when compared to those who did not age out of foster care, and 3) despite receiving services to prepare them for adulthood, homeless emerging adults who aged out of foster care had just as much difficulty achieving adult competency as their homeless peers who did not receive these services. Finally, results showed that the use of participatory action research among homeless emerging adults may be a promising approach for future research. Participants expressed feeling empowered and having perceptions that indicated self-efficacy. This indicated that this type of methodology may be promising in altering perceptions of learned helplessness. / text

Cette thèse interroge les représentations de la sexualité et les constructions de la masculinité chez une population de jeunes Marocains (âgés de 20 à 30 ans), musulmans, immigrés en Alsace (France) et en Toscane (Italie). Ce travail s’attache à analyser le pouvoir de l’hétéronormativité et son influence sur les expériences de ces jeunes hommes pendant leur transition vers l’âge adulte à l’étranger. À travers une approche qualitative – fondée sur des entretiens semi-directifs et sur l’observation ethnographique –, cette étude montre que l’hétéronormativité, loin d’être un pouvoir monolithique et figé, est une norme plurielle. L’enquête menée met en évidence que la force hégémonique de l'hétéronormativité ne se limite pas à définir les significations sociales de la sexualité et les processus de l’identification de genre, mais qu’elle façonne également les représentations subjectives et collectives des âges, les relations intra et intergénérationnelles, les rapports entre populations majoritaires et minoritaires ainsi qu’entre populations minoritaires à l’étranger. L’analyse des conduites sexuelles et des masculinités devient le terrain pour une étude bien plus large des profils sociaux des jeunes interviewés. / This thesis investigates representations of sexuality and constructions of masculinity among young Moroccan Muslim men (aged between 20 and 30) who migrated to France (Alsace) and Italy (Tuscany). Sexual accounts and gender identification processes are the main fields to study heteronormativity and to show how its hegemonic power is interwoven with other social relations which define the transition to adulthood of these young men. By exploring the outcomes of a qualitative research – based on ethnographic observation and interviews – this study demonstrates that heteronormativity, far from being a monolithic power, is a plural norm which produces not only social constructions of sexuality and masculinity among young Moroccans, but also shapes intra- and intergenerational relationships, relations among minority groups, and between migrants and the majority population.

Au Maroc, lors de la première moitié du 20ème siècle, la transition à l’âge adulte des femmes et des hommes se caractérise par le franchissement précoce de trois étapes successives, différentes selon le sexe. Chez les femmes, le premier seuil correspond au départ du foyer parental, associé à l’entrée en union, suivie de la naissance du premier enfant. Tandis que chez les hommes, les trois événements sont l’exercice d’une activité économique, le mariage et la venue du premier enfant. Ces différences genrées s’expliquent par une distribution des rôles sexués dès l’enfance, c’est-à-dire par l’investissement des garçons dans la sphère publique (accès à la scolarité et à l’emploi) et des jeunes filles dans la sphère privée (tâches domestiques). Cependant, en l’espace de quelques décennies, ces rôles traditionnels vont être remis en question. La démocratisation de l’enseignement et l’entrée dans la vie active des femmes vont profondément modifier les modes d’entrée dans la vie adulte (fin d'études, premier emploi, décohabitation parentale, mariage, et naissance du premier enfant). Cette thèse révèle les mécanismes à l’œuvre lors de la construction des parcours de jeunesse, en prenant en compte le sexe, la génération et l’appartenance sociale des jeunes enquêtés. Elle repose sur une méthodologie quantitative et qualitative complémentaire, en se fondant sur une enquête biographique, réalisée dans la ville de Sidi Ifni (sud-ouest du Maroc), auprès des jeunes âgés de 15 à 35 ans (408 enquêtés), en 2009, et de 25 entretiens approfondis. / During the first half of the 20th century in Morocco, the transition of women and men to adulthood is characterized by the early crossing of three different successive steps, which differ according to the sex. Concerning women, the first step corresponds to leaving parental home, associated with the entry into union, followed by the first birth. While for men these steps have to do with the exercise of an economic activity, marriage and first birth. These gender differences are explained by a distribution of gender roles during childhood, which is to say by the investment of boys in public life (access to education and employment) and that of girls in the private sphere (domestic tasks). However, within a few decades, these traditional roles are going to be questioned. The democratization of schooling and the entrance of women into the labour force will deeply change the access modes to adult life (graduation, first job, leaving parental home, marriage, first birth). This thesis reveals the mechanisms interacting during the construction of the youth life course, taking into account sex, generation and social class of the youths who were investigated. It stands on a complementary quantitative and qualitative methodology, based on a biographical survey, conducted in the city of Sidi Ifni (south western Morocco), with young people aged 15 to 35 years (408 respondents), in 2009 and 25 in-depth interviews.

Objective: This thesis examines the timing of having the first child in relation to when Swedish men and women leave the parental home. The aim is to explain if any childbearing trends can be detected based on whether one leaves the parental home at a younger or older relative age than the current age norms. The timing of having the first child might be affected by either a speed up/slow down effect (one continues to experience other stages of adulthood faster or slower relative to people of the same age) or an age-norm effect (one tries to counter-act deviation from the home-leaving norm by speeding up or delaying childbearing to align with people of the same age).   Method and Data: Event history analysis is applied using a multivariate piece-wise constant hazard model. The data comes from Swedish register data based on records of the entire Swedish population between 1 January 1953 and 31 December 2012.   Results: The results indicate that Swedish women who leave the parental home younger than the norm run a greater risk of having their first child sooner after leaving the parental home relative to women of the same age. Swedish men who leave the parental home younger than the norm, on the other hand, run a greater risk of having the first child later after leaving the parental home relative to men of the same age. Swedish men who leave the parental home later than the norm run a greater risk of having their first child sooner after leaving the parental home relative to men of the same age while the opposite is true for women. However, the effects of timing of leaving the parental home are relatively small, which can be explained by the very long and stable mean durations found. The peak durations of intensities, i.e. number of years between leaving the parental home and having the first child, for men and women can be found after 10–12 years. The peak durations of intensities are remarkably similar between the genders.   Conclusion: Swedish women who leave the parental home earlier than the norm are more likely to experience a speed-up effect in terms of childbearing and a slow down effect when leaving the parental home later than the norm. Thus, women stick to breaking the normative timing of the life course events once they have started. Swedish men, on the other hand, are more likely to try and catch up with age norms and instead postpone having the first child when leaving the parental home earlier than the norm and speed up having a child when leaving the parental home later than the norm. Men are thus more likely to time having children with men of the same age. / Stockholm University SIMSAM Node for Demographic Research

This thesis deals with the role of Czech housing policy in the independence of young adults in relation to the problem of lack of adequate housing in the Czech Republic. This issue is investigated within the framework of the theoretical lifestyle concepts and the transition to adulthood. These concepts should identify the impact of lack of housing availability for young people during their life - both in the process of separation and in the transition to adulthood. The analytical part of this thesis describes the current situation on the housing market, which can be characterized by a lack of adequate housing, the main factors influencing the housing policy creation, and the tools of housing policy focusing explicitly or implicitly on young people. In the empirical part following areas are investigated: the current housing situation of young adults; the barriers that young people encounter when seeking independent housing; the position of independent housing in the life of young people; the attitude of young people towards housing policy according to their age category. The final part answers to the goals of this thesis - it evaluates the support of housing policy focused on young adults in the growing lack of housing; it describes the main barriers that young people encounter; explains the impact...

Titel: Vi måste trolla med knäna- Socialsekreterares erfarenheter av eftervård till unga som lämnar dygnsvården Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka vad socialsekreterare anser attsamhällsplacerade unga har för behov i övergången mot ett självständigt vuxenliv, samtderas erfarenheter av de stöd- och hjälpinsatser som erbjuds de unga eftersamhällsplaceringens avslut. Metod: För att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar genomfördes tvåfokusgruppsintervjuer på två olika avdelningar inom en Socialtjänst i Sverige. Resultat: Resultatet av studien visade att socialsekreterarna anser att de unga somlämnar dygnsvården har olika förutsättningar och är i stort behov av socialt stöd ochpraktiskt stöd. Resultatet visade även att de eftervårdsinsatser som erbjuds idag intetillgodoser de identifierade behoven. Socialsekreterarna måste således trolla med knänaoch hitta egna lösningar. Diskussion: Samhället har ett stort ansvar för de placerade barnen även efter avslutadplacering och därför behöver lagen kring eftervård bli tydligare. / Title: Leaving social care in Sweden- Social workers experiences of working with young care leavers Aim: The study aims at examining what social workers consider necessary for youngcare leavers during their transition to adulthood, together with social workers experiences of working with aftercare. Method: To achieve the aim of the study, two focus group interviews were conductedwith social workers from two different sections of social services in one municipality in Sweden. Results: The result showed that according to the social workers, the young care leaversare a vulnerable group and in need of social and practical support. The study alsoshowed that the existing aftercare policies and services offered to care leavers does notmeet the identified needs. The social workers cannot therefore provide for the needs ofthe care leavers thus being forced to make things work out of the impossible. Discussion: The social services within municipalities are solely responsible for care andaftercare of the out of home placed children and youth. Therefore, there is need fordistinct policies and guidelines on aftercare.