Abrupt Shocks: The Effects of Emergency Disruptions on the Transition to Adulthood

• In Event: 2484 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 01. Access to Education

Abstract

This article uses interviews with 41 young women to examine the influence of life disruptions on their transitions to adulthood. We focus on the impact of sudden shocks to their lives and the interviewees resilience in overcoming these shocks. Current research and policy often describes disruptions as barriers to education and work. We find, however, that the shocks young women faced were largely disruptive not only because the event was disruptive, but because the resources to overcome such disruptions were out of reach for many of the women interviewed. There is little research examining how young adults overcome sudden shocks, access to resources when they lack the capital to overcome a shock independently, and the impact of sudden shocks on the life course. We find that several women had issues accessing resources to overcome their shocks, and this lack of access altered their life course. Those who were not able to access institutional resources sought assistance from personal ties and/or altered their life courses to overcome the shock. Financial assistance from family members often caused social strain while assistance such as child care or housing was often temporary. Several women made course alterations at their own discretion or were able to successfully overcome their disruptions, but many were unable to or had difficulty overcoming these shocks. This paper ends with policy recommendations to better accommodate reduce the disruption these shocks and minimize the impact on the life course such disruptions have.

Authors

• Alec Cali, State University of New York-Stony Brook

• Jessica Halliday Hardie, City University of New York-Hunter College and The Graduate Center