Becoming adult in hard times

It is well known that the current economic recession has affected the youth population more than other age cohorts in many European countries. Nevertheless, the effects on young people’s daily lives are have not been carefully examined by intertwining different scientific perspectives. In addition to the growing attention paid to the unemployment rate, other consequences risk being underestimated. This contribution focuses on the consequences of early job insecurity and labour-market exclusion (i.e. unemployment or economic inactivity) for European youth’s autonomy in terms of leaving the parental home and forming one’s own family. Thanks to a fruitful scientific dialogue between sociology and psychology, the authors critically discuss an updated literature review on the transition from youth to adult life.The book has been written by a group of scholars working at the Department of Culture, Politics and Society and Psychology (University of Turin, IT) jointly with a colleague from the Umea University (SE).