Pathways into Marginalization. A 28-Year Longitudinal Study from Adolescence to Middle Adulthood

One of our biggest societal challenges today is to reduce marginalization, or "outsiderhood." In Norway, there are many ways to be outside. Mental health problems, challenges at school and in the workplace, and a feeling of being socially isolated are all examples of outsideness. People who experience problems in one area of ​​their lives often have challenges in several areas at the same time. We also know that children who grow up in families that are at risk of being outsided are themselves at greater risk of experiencing outsidedness as adults. In this research project, we investigate the causes and consequences of outsidedness. We look at how people end up outsided and why they often experience outsidedness in several areas at the same time. We also investigate the reasons why outsidedness is "inherited." Finally, we investigate whether experiences of being outsided affect political attitudes and trust in institutions in Norway. We analyze data from the longitudinal survey Ung i Norge, which has followed several thousand participants over 28 years of age, from adolescence and into adulthood. The data includes questionnaire data, registry data and genetic information. The project is being carried out at the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo and is affiliated with the research centre PROMENTA. The publications in the project focus on how a number of psychosocial factors in adolescence and young adulthood are linked to exclusion. Factors we have investigated are loneliness, mental disorders, behavioural problems, smoking and sexual behaviour. We show that loneliness in adolescence and young adulthood is associated with lower income and more exclusion in the labour market later in life. We also find that young people with mental disorders have more challenges in seeing situations from the perspective of others, which can lead to later social problems. When we examine behavioural problems, we show that even moderate levels of problematic behaviour in adolescence are associated with negative outcomes later in adulthood, such as low income and less education. We also found that smoking in adolescence and young adulthood is related to later mental health problems, even after taking into account a number of other explanatory variables. We further show that several sociodemographic factors are related to youth sexual behavior. Such social differences in sexual behavior can influence later social behavior. To shed light on how young people's life situations changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have investigated how school closures and social distancing may have affected feelings of exclusion among young people, as well as how experiences during the pandemic have affected young people's attitudes towards the authorities. We have also investigated the possible consequences of experiences of exclusion throughout the life course. Among other things, we show that experiences of low self-esteem and loneliness in adolescence and early adulthood are linked to negative attitudes towards immigration and gender equality later in life, as well as an increased tendency to conspiracy thinking. The results of the project indicate that psychosocial factors in adolescence and young adulthood in a complex interaction influence the development of exclusion later in life, and that experiences of exclusion throughout the life course can influence political attitudes. We have published our results in international and national scientific journals. In addition, we have prepared a report aimed at the Norwegian public on the life situation of young people during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have written newspaper columns where we communicate our findings to the general public and we have presented our research through interviews in newspapers, on TV and in podcasts.