Abstract
This collaborative writing project, drawing on data from the Life Patterns longitudinal research program, provides new insights into the generations that have shaped a new adulthood. Following the lives of cohort 1 from 1991 and cohort 2 from 2005 to 2006 when they respectively left secondary school, the research spans a time of significant social, political and economic change on a global scale. This book explores in detail what this change looks like for young Australians, how they understand their situation and what the implications of their decisions are over time. Longitudinal research of this nature has a number of strengths, including being able to trace the impact of social change in real time; comparing the experiences of different generations and analysing the longer-term impact of social conditions. The chapters in this book explore both young people’s subjectivities as well as documenting the changing economic and political environments they are navigating. The themes of social generation, transformations, relationships, belonging and resilience run through many of the chapters, to create a nuanced and holistic account of young lives and the creation of a new adulthood through the last quarter of a century. The book contributes to ongoing debates in the field of youth studies, including the use of the concept of social generation, the need to reclaim resilience as a social concept, the relevance of relationships to people and place and the re-inscription of inequalities.
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Wyn, J. (2020). Introduction. In: Wyn, J., Cahill, H., Woodman, D., Cuervo, H., Leccardi, C., Chesters, J. (eds) Youth and the New Adulthood. Perspectives on Children and Young People, vol 8. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3365-5_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3365-5_1
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