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

生活安排和生活经验不稳定的青年可能难以过渡到成年，也难以在晚年实现经济稳定。 一些青年比其他青年更容易受到不稳定性的影响，因此可以研究法律及其解释如何促进或阻碍这一人群的积极成果。 此外，随着时间的推移，与这种不稳定性相关的政策也发生了变化，和/或对这些政策的解释也发生了变化，从而形成了一种自然的实验。 这是向成年过渡的一个研究不足的方面，因此激发了描绘这些不同经历的项目。 该项目将阐明对法律的解释和法律本身如何成为缓解向成年过渡或减少成功假设生产性成人角色的可能性的重要因素。 该项目的调查结果将有助于为州和联邦政策提供信息，以更好地支持青年向成年过渡。该项目将使用参与者观察和深入的半结构化访谈，以突出一些青年或多或少容易驾驭不稳定环境的过程和机制。 该项目将对30名经历一定程度不稳定的年轻人进行采访，以及30名负责帮助他们过渡到成年的成年人。 该项目还将与协助这些过渡的国家行为体进行另外25次访谈。 参与者观察了几个月的时间，将允许有关的各种情况下的相关过渡到成年的青少年受到precarity的推论。 在第二个时间点重新采访一部分青年，将有助于推断相关进程如何随着时间的推移而演变，并分析在这段时间内发生的关键结果。 使用Atlas.ti进行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。 调查结果将告知法律社会学的关键文献，国家对青年的支持作用，以及向成年人的过渡。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

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.