Resources and (in(ter))dependence: Young people's reflections on parents

In: Young: Nordic journal of youth research, Band 16, Heft 2, S. 209-226

Abstract

The lives of young people are lived in the context of social changes associated with neo-liberal politics. In neo-liberalism, individuals are considered autonomous units who steer their own futures, and the transition from youth into adulthood is understood as a change from dependence into independence from family ties. It has been assumed that autonomy is the endpoint of this development. Yet this approach has turned out to be too restricted. Several studies suggest that the family still remains a significant component in the social, educational, emotional and material lives of young people. Parents are important resources in young people's paths to adulthood. In this article, we discuss changing reflections of young Finnish women and men on their relationships with their parents. We analyze parents as providers of material resources, as well as emotional and social ones, in order to facilitate the transition to adulthood. We suggest that whilst young people are willing to move from semi-dependence to independence in relation to material resources, in emotional and social terms they strive for interdependence. We came to know these young people in an ethnographic study when they began secondary school. This article draws from re-interviews with the same young people at the ages of 17–18 and 19–20.