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ARTICLES

Australian children's accounts of the closure of a car factory: global restructuring and local impacts

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Pages 143-158 | Received 01 Nov 2007, Published online: 08 May 2009
 

Abstract

This paper presents children's accounts from Adelaide, South Australia about parental job losses from automotive manufacturing, an industry that is being restructured globally. The research is informed by the ‘new sociology of childhood’ and nests within a longitudinal, mixed-method study of 372 displaced workers. We interviewed 35 boys and girls aged 4 to 19 from 16 families. Findings support calls for children's voices to be heard. Many children did not see the job loss as a major problem; some felt they now had a better life and many valued not moving for new work. While some reported social, health, and financial impacts, others were shielded by parents. Parents consented to their children's involvement in 23% of in-scope families and those who had moved interstate were not included. Nevertheless, the children's accounts contribute a better understanding of adult domains, including the value of family-friendly work patterns; they also highlight the benefits of including children's perspectives on social and economic change. Economic and policy contexts that may have limited the job loss impact include the welfare state, trade unions, a low unemployment rate, and government intervention to manage job loss.

Cet article présente des comptes-rendus d'enfants vivants à Adelaïde (Australie Méridionale) qui traitent de la perte d'emploi de leurs parents travaillant dans l'industrie automobile, un secteur en cours de restructuration au niveau mondial. Cette étude se base sur la « nouvelle sociologie de l'enfance » et s'inscrit dans le cadre d'une étude longitudinale de 372 travailleurs déplacés, qui utilise une approche quantitative et qualitative mixte. Nous avons interviewé 35 garçons et filles âgés de 4 à 19 dans 16 familles. Les résultats indiquent qu'il est important de tenir compte de l'avis des enfants. De nombreux enfants interviewés ne n'ont pas perçu la perte d'emploi comme un problème majeur. Certains ont estimé qu'ils avaient maintenant une vie meilleure et beaucoup ont apprécié ne pas avoir à se déplacer pour trouver de nouveaux emplois. Alors que certains ont mentionné des conséquences sociales et financières ainsi que des effets sur la santé, d'autres ont déclaré qu'ils avaient été protégés par leurs parents. Les parents n'ont consenti à la participation de leurs enfants que dans 23 pour cent des cas de familles répondant aux critères de sélection. Les personnes qui ont quitté l'Australie Méridionale n'ont pas été prises en compte dans l’étude. Néanmoins, les comptes-rendus d'enfants contribuent à une meilleure compréhension du domaine des adultes et soulignent les bénéfices d'un aménagement du travail qui convienne aux familles. Ils montrent aussi l'intérêt de connaitre la perspective des enfants à ce sujet. Le système de protection sociale, les syndicats, un faible taux de chômage et l'intervention des pouvoirs publics dans la gestion des pertes d'emplois sont les paramètres économiques et politiques qui ont contribué à limité les effets néfastes des pertes d'emplois.

Acknowledgements

The researchers thank the families and children who participated in the study; two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and Dr Guangyu Zhang and Dr Anna Ziersch who provided the statistical analysis. The research was funded by the South Australian Department of Health and the Department for Families & Communities (HSRIP 2003–04) and the Australian Research Council (LP0562288).

Notes

1. General health was measured with the SF-1 where people self-identify their health in general as being ‘poor’, ‘fair’, ‘good’, ‘very good’, or excellent. In accordance with standard practice, people were grouped as having either ‘good’/‘very good’/excellent health or ‘fair’/‘poor’ health. Mental health was measured using the GHQ-12 (General Health Questionnaire). On the GHQ scores range from 0 to 12 with higher scores indicating worse mental health. They used the threshold of 2 or more to indicate at least minor psychiatric disorder, based on recommendations by Goldberg, Oldehinkel, and Ormel (Citation1998) who examined GHQ thresholds in a range of countries and primary care settings. They recommend that if the setting's mean is below 1.85 then a threshold of 2 or more should be used. According to the 1997 Australia National Health Survey (ABS, Citation1997), the national mean was 0.85, so we applied a ‘2 or greater’ threshold for our sample.

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