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Insecurity of young people

The meaning of insecurity as defined by 13–17-year-old Finns

Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy, University of Kuopio, Finland [Email: riitta.vornanen{at}uku.fi]

Maritta Törrönen

Department of Social Policy, University of Helsinki, Finland [Email: maritta.torronen{at}helsinki.fi]

Pauli Niemelä

Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy, University of Kuopio, Finland [Email: pauli.niemela{at}uku.fi]

This article critically examines the concept of insecurity as experienced by young people in Finland. Young people’s own definitions of insecurity show how 13–17-year-olds assess their lives and ontological insecurities and threats in the world. The topic is analyzed from a social sciences perspective and interpreted within the theoretical framework of risk society by Ulrich Beck (1996; 2001), Anthony Giddens (1991) and Franz-Xavier Kaufmann (1970).

The data was collected from schools in five regions in Finland. A total of 922 respondents aged 13 to 17 completed a questionnaire in classroom settings. This article analyzes only the data elicited by open-ended questions, which were answered by 683 young people.

Young people’s experiences of insecurity were classified into 16 categories, which were then divided under three headings: (i) the inner circle, that is, insecurity related to personal emotions and inner experiences; (ii) the social circle, that is, insecurity related to social interaction; and (iii) the outer circle, that is, insecurity related to external realities. Young people’s definitions of insecurity reveal their perspective on risk society in which everyone is vulnerable to certain risks.The answers disclose a set of contradictory risks, which are at the same time personal, local and global. First, they connect insecurity to their inner feelings and emotions. Second, they interpret the social relationships and the everyday life experiences in connection with insecurity. Third, insecurity is defined by young people by external realities, such as socio-economic ill-being, violence and war.

In the future, more empirical and qualitative research on risk society and how it is experienced by young people in the everyday life is needed. How do young people connect close and distant security issues and insecurity to their everyday life?

Key Words: young people • security • insecurity • risk

Young, Vol. 17, No. 4, 399-419 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/110330880901700404


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