Se analizan las experiencias personales de una muestra de jóvenes con más de un año de desempleo con objeto de comprender sus expectativas y las estrategias que utilizan para enfrentarse a esta situación. Se intentan determinar los factores de apoyo y de vulnerabilidad presentes en su entorno social (familia, salud, formación, economía sumergida, etc.). Se reflexiona sobre las acciones de las instituciones para resolver el problema del paro juvenil y la exclusión social que lleva asociado.

Contenido: 1.- Juventud: trabajo, actitudes y valores. 2.- Efectos psicosociales del desempleo en la juventud. 3.- Desempleo juvenil e intervención psicosocial. / Esta obra contiene los trabajos presentados en el simposio internacional sobre: juventud, trabajo y desempleo, celebrado en Toledo en Diciembre de 1986. Las ponencias presentadas ofrecen una gran cantidad de enfoques, que pueden permitir un mayor y mejor conocimiento del objeto de estudio que nos ocupa. Esta diversidad no implica una dispersión temática, ya que se articulan en torno a tres líneas básicas de análisis: una centrada preferentemente en la descripción de la situación, haciendo hincapié en las actitudes de los jóvenes hacia el trabajo; la segunda, dedicada a los efectos del desempleo en los jóvenes, y la última, ocupada en programas y medidas de intervención.

Youth unemployment has become one of the most crucial social problems in many EU countries. In the 90s it can be observed that in most Western countries, the rate of youth unemployment have risen dramatically, in some of these countries the unemployment problem can be considered primarily a problem of refused entry to the labour market for members of the younger generation. This development increases the risk of psychosocial impairment to the individuals affected as well as to the social fabric in general. The present volume draws attention to the health effects of long-term youth unemployment in six European countries. It is based upon the results of an international research project (Youth Unemployment and Social Exclusion: Dimensions, Subjective Experiences, and Innovative Institutional Responses in Six Countries of the EU) (YUSEDER) conducted in the framework of the research programme Targeted Socio-Economic Research (TSER) of the European Commission. Partners with different scientific backgrounds (health psychology, public health research, psychiatry, industrial sociology, medical sociology) from six European countries participated in this project. The contributions in this volume illustrate an initial approach to analysing and comparing empirical evidence on youth unemployment and health from a comparative perspective for three Northern European countries (Sweden, Germany, Belgium) and for three Southern European countries (Spain, Italy, Greece). For each country a specific national report is presented. The comparative section describes and attempts to explain the similarities and dissimilarities between countries having rather diverse historical and social understandings of being in and out of work for young people.

This important new book presents the findings of the first comparative study of unemployed youth in Europe using a large and original data set. It addresses some of the key questions around the issue including: How do young people cope with unemployment? Does unemployment lead to social exclusion of young people, implying a withdrawal from society, financial deprivation and social isolation? Drawing on a research sample of over 17000 young unemployed people in ten European countries, the book examines how different welfare strategies and labour market policies in different countries influence the risk of social exclusion among unemployed youth.