Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Effects of the Law on Precarity among Youth

在生活安排和生活经历方面出现早熟的青年，在向成年过渡和在晚年实现经济稳定方面可能会遇到困难。一些年轻人比其他人更容易早产，因此可以研究法律及其解释如何促进或阻止这一群体的积极成果。此外，与这种早熟相关的政策随着时间的推移而变化，和/或它们的解释也发生了变化，从而创造了一个自然的实验。这是向成人过渡的一个未被充分研究的方面，因此激发了这个将描绘这些不同经历的项目的动机。该项目将阐明对法律的解释和法律本身如何成为简化成年过渡的重要因素，或降低成功承担富有成效的成年人角色的可能性。该项目的发现将有助于为州和联邦政策提供信息，以更好地支持年轻人过渡到成年。这个项目将使用参与者观察和深入的半结构化访谈来突出一些年轻人或多或少容易地在不稳定的环境中导航的过程和机制。该项目将采访30名经历过某种程度早熟的年轻人，以及30名负责帮助他们过渡到成年的成年人。该项目还将对协助这些过渡的国家行为者进行另外25次访谈。通过几个月的参与者观察，可以推断与早产青年向成年期过渡有关的各种背景。在第二个时间点与一组青年重新面谈，将可以推断有关进程如何随时间演变，以及分析在这段时间内发生的关键结果。使用Atlas.ti的定性分析将允许对访谈和观察数据进行迭代编码，允许采用演绎和归纳方法。调查结果将为有关法律社会学、国家对青年的支持的作用以及向成年人过渡的关键文献提供信息。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Youth who experience precarity in living arrangements and life experience may have difficulty in the transition to adulthood and in achieving economic stability in later years. Some youths are more subject to precarity than others, thus allowing study of how laws and their interpretation may promote or deter positive outcomes in this population. In addition, policies relevant to this precarity have changed over time, and/or their interpretations have changed, thus creating a natural experiment. This is an under-studied aspect of the transition to adulthood, thus motivating the project that will portray these varied experiences. The project will shed light on how interpretations of laws and the laws themselves can be significant factors in easing the transition to adulthood, or reducing the likelihood of successful assumption of productive adult roles. Findings from the project will help inform state and federal policies to better support youth transitions to adulthood. This project will use participant observation and in-depth semi-structured interviews to highlight the processes and mechanisms through which some youths more or less easily navigate precarious environments. The project will conduct interviews with 30 youths who experience some degree of precarity, as well as with 30 adults charged with helping them navigate the transition to adulthood. The project will also conduct an additional 25 interviews with state actors assisting in these transitions. Participant observation over a period of several months will allow inferences regarding the variety of contexts relevant to the transition to adulthood for youths subject to precarity. Re-interviews with a subset of youths at a second time point will allow inferences regarding how the relevant processes evolve over time, as well as analysis of key outcomes that have occurred during the interval. Qualitative analyses using Atlas.ti will permit iterative coding of the interview and observational data, allowing both deductive and inductive approaches. Findings will inform key literatures on the sociology of law, the role of state supports of youth, and the transition to adulthood.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.