Youth Unemployment in the 1980s

Originally published in 1988, this book examines the psychological consequence of prolonged periods of joblessness among a national cohort of 16-19 year olds. It places the problem in a historical context and then examines evidence for the effect of unemployment on the motivation to work, psychological health, and early careers.

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Youth unemployment is one of the most critical problems generated by any recession. Widespread changes in the structure of the youth labour market, together with the increasing affluence amongst the employed, meant that the experience of unemployment for young people in the 1970s and 1980s was quite different from that of previous decades. Originally published in 1988, this book examines the psychological consequence of prolonged periods of joblessness among a national cohort of 16-19 year olds. It places the problem in a historical context and then examines evidence for the effect of unemployment on the work ethic, motivation to work, the search for jobs, psychological health, political views, lifestyles and early careers. Particular attention is paid to gender and ethnic group differences. Original research was integrated with existing literature with the aim of bringing together a wide variety of studies and theoretical positions previously dispersed throughout the literature.