Young People’s Strategies for Handling Economic Adversity

As an extension of the research into strategies for handling economic adversity of young people in poor families, this study examines strategy use in the context of middle-income families affected by unemployment. Interviews with 39 young people in previously comfortably-off families where one or both of the parents had become unemployed were conducted. The purpose was to explore how, in a Swedish context, young people think about and respond to situations following a drastic reduction in family income. Results indicate that while the strategies used by these young people are generally similar to those in poor families, no use of avoidance-oriented strategies was found. This, it is argued, is because parental unemployment and financial adversity are not perceived as stigmatizing.