Comparison of social representations of NEETs in active young French adults and NEETs themselves

ABSTRACT

Although diverse European policy initiatives have been developed to integrate young NEETs – “Not in Employment, Education or Training”, it is particularly relevant to question how NEETs are perceived by their counterparts who are actively engaged in society. For this reason, we aimed to examine the Social Representations (SRs) of NEETs in France, using the classic free evocation technique. French NEETs (n = 71) and matched controls (n = 66; people employed, in education or in training) were interviewed. Results showed the scope of SRs for the semantic field of the term NEET and its associated terms. The need to develop effective communication to talk about work, education, and training with NEETs and implications for career counselling are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• NEETs
• social representation
• young adult
• active self-perception

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Auguste Dumouilla

Auguste Dumouilla is an Associate Researcher at the Laboratoire de Psychologie et d’Ergonomie Appliquées (LaPEA), Université de Paris and Université Gustave Eiffel, France. He has a PhD in Psychology. The main focus of his research is the NEET population and their characteristics, their social representations about work, and the effects of training on well-being and employability. He is also working on serendipity, creativity and wellbeing.

Marion Botella

Marion Botella is an Assistant Professor in Psychology at Laboratoire de Psychologie et d'Ergonomie Appliquées (LaPEA), Université de Paris and Université Gustave Eiffel, France. Her research focuses mainly on the description of the creative process in different fields (art, science, design, music, cooking, management and IT) and with different populations (experts, students, children), crossed with multivariate factors (cognitive, conative, emotional and environmental). Her other research interests include emotional traits (alexithymia, emotional intelligence) and construction/validation of measurement tools.

Maxime Gillet

Maxime Gillet is a Phd student working on his thesis in physical activity sciences at the TEC laboratory, University of Paris, France. He works on social competencies among NEETs in order to help develop their well-being and employability.

Hélène Joncheray

Hélène Joncheray is a sociologist and an Associate Professor at the University of Paris, France. Helene specialises in sports sociology. The social construction of sports performance is her main focus.

Jérôme Guegan

Jérôme Guegan is an Assistant Professor in Psychology at Laboratoire de Psychologie et d'Ergonomie Appliquées (LaPEA), Université de Paris and Université Gustave Eiffel, France. His main research topics include social representations, socio-cognitive processes, social identity, computer-mediated communication, and creativity in a virtual environment.

Léonore Robieux

Léonore Robieux is an Associate Researcher at Laboratoire de Psychologie et d'Ergonomie Appliquées (LaPEA), Université de Paris and Université Gustave Eiffel, France. She has a PhD in Psychology. Her research interests include the influence of empathy on patient outcomes in chronic disease care.

Pascal Bordes

Pascal Bordes is an Assistant Professor in physical activity sciences at the University of Paris, France. His research interests include areas related to praxeology, motor praxeology, semiology, sociology of education, and sociology of institutions.

Luc Collard

Luc Collard is Professor in physical activity sciences at University of Paris, France. His research interests are in motor praxeology and game theory.

Sabina Hodzic

Sabina Hodzic is a post-doctoral research fellow at University of Graz, Austria. She has a PhD in the psychology of human resources. Her main research topics are emotional competencies, stress and well-being, employability, and more recently, the impact of flexible working conditions on individuals and teams.

Laurent Sovet

Laurent Sovet is an Assistant Professor in differential psychology at Laboratoire de Psychologie et d'Ergonomie Appliquées (LaPEA), Université de Paris and Université Gustave Eiffel, France. He received a PhD in career counselling psychology at the National Conservatory of Applied Technology (Paris, France) in 2014. His current research interests are related to meaning-centered career interventions and career management skills.

Todd Lubart

Todd Lubart is Professor of Psychology at Laboratoire de Psychologie et d'Ergonomie Appliquées (LaPEA), Université de Paris and Université Gustave Eiffel, France. He obtained his doctorate at Yale University, USA, and was a visiting professor at the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce in Paris. His research interests include individual differences in creativity, the identification and development of children's creativity, and the creative process. He has authored/co-authored numerous scientific articles and books (e.g. Defying the Crowd: Cultivating Creativity in a Culture of Conformity [Free Press, 1995]).

Franck Zenasni

Franck Zenasni is Professor of Psychology at Laboratoire de Psychologie et d'Ergonomie Appliquées (LaPEA), Université de Paris and Université Gustave Eiffel, France. His main research topics are creativity (imagination), emotional skills (empathy) and positive organisational behaviours (quality of life). He examines dispositional antecedents of these resources, particularly stable emotional characteristics such as emotional intensity, emotional coping skills, and alexithymia. He also studies the impact of these resources on health and work.