2022 chapter

Family support and young adult labor market attainment

In Youth Without Family to Lean On (pp. 75–89).

By: S. Bluth & A. Manzoni*

Source: Crossref
Added: January 17, 2023

This chapter explores how the lack of material, emotional, or social support from their family shapes young adults’ transitions into the labor market. Extant interdisciplinary research and the life course perspective suggest that family resources as well as positive family interactions provide important scaffolding and buffer young people from the scarring effects of negative early employment experiences. Young adults without family support may face additional challenges in the labor market due to racial and economic disadvantage, early childhood neglect, abuse, and trauma. Rigorous longitudinal studies and qualitative research are needed to illuminate the complex processes involved in family support and young adults’ labor market experiences and to understand how they contribute to broader processes of inequality. Such studies would strengthen policies and programs designed to support young adults who lack family support.