News

The buzz word ‘social exclusion’ was introduced by the Labour government when it came into power in 1997 with a raft of initiatives aimed at turning people’s lives around. The expression epitomises the very clients social care professionals have spent decades working with: those at risk from a combination of linked problems, writes Anabel Unity Sale.

Experiencing social exclusion is difficult enough for anyone; none more so than vulnerable young people who do not have the necessary support networks or who lack the appropriate coping skills.

A new report published by the Children’s Society and written by Professor Maddy Monaghan and Dr Bob Broad from De Montfort University’s children and families research unit, highlights the effect social exclusion has on the well-being and health of young people.

'Talking Sense: Messages from young people facing social exclusion about their health and well-being' is based on a two-year study started in 2000.

The team interviewed 102 young people aged between 16 and 25, 57 of whom had spent some time in local authority care and three quarters were taken into care aged nine or younger. Just under half (41) of the young people think being in care damaged them mentally, physically or ‘in every way’.

Of the 68 female and 34 male respondents, 72 say their family relationships make them “feel ill” because they were at best negative, and at worst abusive or violent. When asked ‘how is your health?’, 67 told researchers it is ‘good’ or ‘ok’ with the remaining saying it is ‘not good’ or ‘poor’.  In contrast, when asked if they feel healthy, 50 said they did not.

All the young people say stress is the biggest factor affecting their emotional well-being, with 36 citing their lack of money as the main cause of their stress, 22 blaming their family relationships and 15 saying it is their partner’s behaviour.

Experiences of stress lead to a variety of negative effects on the respondents, with some young people reporting they feel depressed and lonely, other saying they feel angry and frustrated and a few admitting to having tried to kill themselves.

The young people employ different mechanisms to cope with stress, with 75 smoking every day, 70 drinking alcohol at least once a week and 44 describing themselves as binge drinkers. Just under half (49) young people say they take illegal drugs and 33 say they do so every day.

Most of the young people using drugs feel doing so has a positive effect on their health and well-being. The most popular drug the respondents use is cannabis.

Coming into contact with social care services impact the young people in different ways. Some told researchers the approach adopted by their social worker or foster carer helped them survive the trauma of being in care while others say they felt even more excluded.

The report says: “Perhaps the most consistent message the young people gave about the health and social care services with which they had been in contact was that, whenever they felt they had been labelled a ‘problem teenager’ or had been greeted with scepticism or with patronising attitudes, they had seldom received the help they needed".

MAIN RECOMMEDATIONS:

• Professionals working with young people should explicitly state their confidentiality criteria
• Young people should be given training in how to deal with stress and anger, preferably from a young age
• Provide drop-in and one-stop-shop types of help and advice services
• Provide appropriate peer education and support groups
• Provide a mentor who had been through similar experiences
• Target services tailored to the specific characteristics of different groups
• Better training in life skills and social skills for those young people leaving care
• More comprehensive and reliable support services for care leavers
• Early intervention to improve the self-esteem and coping strategies of vulnerable young people may help to reduce the incidence of teenage pregnancy
• New or improved good health programme for boys and young men covering emotional literacy, emotional, mental, physical and sexual health, parenting skills and sustaining positive relationships