Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Dec;59(6):911-919.
doi: 10.1002/ijop.13219. Epub 2024 Jul 2.

NEET and resilient: The lived experiences of a sample of South African emerging adults

Linda Theron  1 , Diane Levine  2   3 , Sadiyya Haffejee  3
Affiliations

NEET and resilient: The lived experiences of a sample of South African emerging adults

Linda Theron et al. Int J Psychol. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

There is scant understanding of what supports African emerging adults who are not in employment, education or training (i.e., NEET) to show resilience to NEET-related challenges. This article narrows that gap by reporting an iterative phenomenological study with nine African emerging adults (mean age: 23.44; 66% female) who were NEET for the 18-month duration of the study and living in a resource-constrained community in South Africa. We interviewed each young person three times (June 2021; December 2021; June 2022). A reflexive thematic analysis of these interview transcripts showed that being NEET is a multifaceted challenge. Supported by a mix of personal, relational and environmental resources, young people managed this challenge by resisting or recuperating from destructive coping mechanisms and believing in a successful future self. These findings point to the importance of young people and their social ecologies (families, peers, service providers and policymakers) recognising and enacting their co-responsibility for resilience to the compound challenges of being NEET.

Keywords: African youth; Multisystemic resilience; Not in employment, Education or training; Qualitative.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003‐066X.55.5.469
    1. Baldry, K., Graham, L., & De Lannoy, A. (2019). The agency and resilience of NEET youth and what we can do to support them. Evidence from a synthesis of qualitative research with young people in South Africa (SALDRU Working Paper Series, 253).
    1. Ballo, J. G., Heglum, M. A., Nilsen, W., & Bernstrøm, V. H. (2022). Can adolescent work experience protect vulnerable youth? A population wide longitudinal study of young adults not in education, employment or training (NEET). Journal of Education and Work, 35(5), 502–520.
    1. Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. (1996). Manual for the Beck depression inventory‐II. Psychological Corporation.
    1. Bonanno, G. A. (2004). Loss, trauma, and human resilience: Have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? American Psychologist, 59(1), 20–28. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003‐066x.59.1.20

Grants and funding