Interrogating waithood: family and housing life stage transitions among young adults in North-West Africa countries

Kovacheva, Siyka; Kabaivanov, Stanimir; Roberts, Ken

doi:10.1080/02673843.2018.1430595

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…a new but socially attenuated form of adulthood" (Honwana, 2012: 20). However, the claim that "the majority of young Africans today live in waithood" (Honwana, 2012: 20) finds only limited support in the broader literature (Finn and Oldfield, 2015;Ungruhe and Esson, 2017;Kovacheva et al, 2018).…”

Section: The Life Course Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Youth and Food Systems Transformation

Glover

Sumberg

2020

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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What, if anything, is special about youth with respect to engagement in food systems? This question is important, owing to the size of the current demographic cohort of youth, globally but especially in the majority world, as well as the large stake, and strong influence, that today's youth will have in the development trajectories and future sustainability of food systems. Although youth is often framed as an age category for policy and bureaucratic purposes, this simplification obscures important dimensions of what being a youth means and entails. It makes comparisons and generalizations simple but misleading, because age-based classifications are nationally and culturally specific. In this paper, we argue that youth is better understood relationally, as a transitional phase within the life course. While every human being depends on consuming food, their individual transition from childhood to adulthood involves-as a very stylized generalization-a significant enlargement of autonomy and independence, as well as an increased likelihood of being substantially and directly involved in the production, distribution, procurement and/or preparation of food, as well as its consumption. However, each person's youth transition and their relationship with food systems is uniquely shaped by specific intersections with multiple factors including gender, class, wealth, health, location, intergenerational relationships, and many others. We conclude that there are only a few, important but not necessarily dominant, ways in which youth as a group have special stakes in food systems. We elaborate on this complex picture and identify some principles to guide development research and policy that seeks to engage with youth in relation to the sustainable transformation of food systems.

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Section: The Life Course Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Youth and Food Systems Transformation

Glover

Sumberg

2020

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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“…In contexts of massive youth unemployment, which is common across Africa, men may have little control over achieving the social markers of male adulthood (viz., earning a stable salary to set up a home for a wife and children), whereas women are more able to achieve the social markers of female adulthood (viz., having and taking care of a child and a family) (Honwana, 2014). Thus, the notion of ‘waithood’ (waiting for adulthood) appears to be a greater challenge for men than for women in Africa (Kovacheva, Kabaivanov, & Roberts, 2018). The capacity of women to move through waithood may constitute gender‐based resilience.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female care leavers' journey to young adulthood from residential care in South Africa: Gender‐specific psychosocial processes of resilience

Hlungwani

Breda

2020

Child & Family Social Work

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The journey from care to young adulthood is often accompanied by many challenges, making care leavers one of society's most vulnerable populations. Although research on young people leaving residential care is gaining increased attention globally, there is limited research that focuses on female care leavers. This article describes the psychosocial resilience processes that facilitate successful transitioning of young women as they journey out of residential care towards young adulthood. The methodology employed is a modified replication of a previous study with young men, with the aim of determining whether women utilize resilience processes in the journey out of care that are different from men. A sample of nine female care leavers was purposively selected and interviewed. Data were analysed using grounded theory methods. The findings indicate that although similar resilience processes are found in both male and female care leavers, there are also resilience processes that are specific to women, notably embracing motherhood and taking on responsibilities. It is concluded that resilience-building programmes for young people leaving care should attend both to males and females together and also address issues specific to the care transition of women.

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“…The unequal integration of southern economies in the global economy, which echoes colonial legacies and neocolonial influences, has aggravated the struggles youth face as they are trying to secure stable jobs (Dobler, 2020: 8). As Kovacheva et al (2018) note, when labor markets do not expand as fast as the education systems and population growth rates, young Africans pay the price. According to Stasik et al (2020: 4), in 21 st century Africa, “dreams of stability and formal employment are as distant as ever.” In this reality, waiting for adulthood becomes a way of living (Finn and Oldfield, 2015).…”

Section: Youth In Waithoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is revealed sporadically, hinting itself in subtle ways one can easily overlook or exempt with cultural or socioeconomic justifications. While quantitative studies discuss waithood through analysis of unemployment and marriage rates among youth with various degrees of education and socioeconomic classes (Akinyoade and Julius-Adeoye, 2017; Kovacheva et al, 2018; Singerman, 2007), qualitative studies (Finn and Oldfield, 2015; Masquelier, 2013; Ungruhe and Esson, 2017) rely on ethnographic methods, grounding their arguments about waithood through ongoing dialogues, observations, and spending long periods of time with youth in their social and physical environments.…”

Section: Ethnography Of Waithoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forever young: Institution-based waithood among youth in Ghana and South Africa

Levy

Dubinsky

2023

Time & Society

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As the scholarship on youth grows, so does the focus on the predicaments youth face increases. In particular, the phenomenon of waithood, which refers to a prolonged period of transition from youth to adulthood, has been attracting much attention from researchers. This article builds upon this growing literature by examining the roles that soccer academies in Ghana and shelters for unaccompanied young migrants in South Africa play in creating, sustaining, and spreading the waithood of youth. Even though both institutions operate in different spaces and promote distinct activities, they share a mutual goal by presenting themselves as educational stepping stones for a better present and future for African youths. Nevertheless, given the gaps between what both institutions claimed to provide and what they provided in reality, we argue that they served as the root of waithood for their young residents. As the following ethnography reveals, with worsening basic living conditions, infrequent access to school, and unattainable dreams about universities and European soccer leagues, many youths in shelters and academies were left incapable of assuming adult responsibilities and enjoying adult privileges. Our findings suggest that, unlike common perception of waithood as a phenomenon that takes place after school and before formal employment, waithood is also an institution-based phenomenon that can be facilitated within the education system. Simultaneously, in contrast to the common scholarly portrayals of waithood as an individual experience, we argue that waithood is a communal social phenomenon. At South African shelters and Ghanaian academies, the period of suspension and the prolonged journey to adulthood trickled-down to wider social and familial circles. The youth's efforts to seek alternative paths for adulthood, as well as the support they get from relatives and friends, reduces the loneliness of their waithood, though their contributions are hampered by local economic and political challenges.

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Interrogating waithood: family and housing life stage transitions among young adults in North-West Africa countries

Cited by 9 publications

References 35 publications

Youth and Food Systems Transformation

Youth and Food Systems Transformation

Female care leavers' journey to young adulthood from residential care in South Africa: Gender‐specific psychosocial processes of resilience

Forever young: Institution-based waithood among youth in Ghana and South Africa

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