All time references are in CEST
Potentials, and Challenges When Surveying Youth and Emerging Adults |
|
| Session Organisers | Dr Diana Schacht (German Youth Institute (DJI)) Dr Anne Berngruber (German Youth Institute (DJI)) Professor Dirk Schubotz (Queen's University Belfast) |
| Time | Tuesday 18 July, 09:00 - 10:30 |
| Room | |
Surveys are a good way to ask young people themselves about their own life but face particular challenges owing to the specifics of the target population. Youth, and especially emerging adulthood, are fast-changing, hard-to-define, and unstable phases of life. A life stage where they explore and shape their identity and increasingly detach from parents. As most adolescents live with their family during their school years or beyond, parents might act as gatekeepers for the reachability of young target persons; influences on response behavior through the presence of parents might also be challenging. The reachability of emerging adults in surveys might be more difficult as this ‘rush-hour of life’ is characterized by lots of changes, such as transitioning from school to VET or university, several first life events like romantic relationships which are often not permanent, or moving out of the parent’s household and living in alternative and fast-changing forms of housing. This session aims to consolidate empirical evidence and methodological advancements in surveying youth and emerging adulthood. Submissions are invited that focus for example on methodological innovations or provide substantive applications demonstrating the utility and assessing the quality of youth data. We welcome all types of studies on youth surveys, e.g., meta-analysis, regional, cross-sectional, longitudinal, mixed-method, and cross-comparative studies.
Potential topics for submissions include, but are not limited to:
o Defining and targeting the youth population
o Sharing best practices, notable failures, and innovative approaches to sampling and surveying youth and emerging adults going beyond their roles as pupils, trainees, students
o Experiences in surveying young people via Apps, Smartphones, and survey modes
o Reaching diversity-sensitive groups within this population (LGBTQ+, disabled persons)
o Addressing item non-response and selection bias
o Developing analysis strategies for youth survey
Keywords: Youth Surveys, Emerging Adulthood, Sampling Challenges, Response Behavior
Mrs Anna Heusler (Institute for Employment Research (IAB)) - Presenting Author
Professor Silke Anger (Institute for Employment Research (IAB))
Dr Hans Dietrich (Institute for Employment Research (IAB))
Professor Bernd Fitzenberger (Institute for Employment Research (IAB))
Dr Duncan Roth (Institute for Employment Research (IAB))
Professor Brigitte Schels (Paris Lodron University of Salzburg)
Miss Leonie Wicht (Institute for Employment Research (IAB))
esra1301
In Germany, vocational training plays a central role in the school-to-work transition and is pivotal for future career paths. However, in recent years, the number of individuals interested in vocational training has significantly declined, while there is a growing trend towards higher educational tracks.
Given that the set of alternatives individuals can pursue after graduating from general education schools varies by education, different patterns emerge for different subgroups. While some young people aim for higher educational degrees, another group remains without training opportunities.
In light of these developments, it is crucial to understand which factors shape educational preferences and how young people can be supported in their career orientation.
However, systematic information on the transition phase and the selection into different educational pathways is scars. Further, the transition phase after general education is very dynamic and shaped by various decisions why cross-sectional data may be insufficient.
To fill this data gap, we run an online panel survey of graduates. The panel structure allows us to closely measure the multifaceted decision-making processes during this sensitive phase. By observing individuals for multiple points in time, we can study how educational preferences develop and how individuals adapt their career plans.
Overall, we survey adolescents up to four times. The first survey will be conducted while individuals are still in school and shortly before they obtain their first degree. The last survey will take place after they have spent some months in their new status. This allows us to compare actual outcomes with educational aspirations and desires. Additionally, our sample design enables us to link the survey data with administrative labor market data for the period after leaving general education.
Mr Aaron Heinz (Verian)
Dr Sophia McDonnell (Verian) - Presenting Author
Ms Elke Himmelsbach (Verian )
Surveys can help to understand and respond to the political and social needs, concerns, hopes and goals of young people, which is perhaps more important than ever in the face of the current global crises.
Verian has recently conducted various quantitative youth studies on political topics for ministries and foundations, including on behalf of Federal Ministries and NGOs. In contrast to adults, many young people have less of a connection to and experience of some complex social and political issues and therefore do not yet have a firm opinion. Therefore, it is a recurring challenge in such studies to formulate questions that are close enough to the reality of young people's lives to obtain meaningful answers and avoid thoughtless answers or item non-response. This applies in particular to subpopulations that have little interest or lack of experience in the survey topic.
To address this issue, we would like to use the quantitative data from at least three large and recent youth surveys to systematically investigate which types of questions promote item non-response among respondents and how they potentially interact with respondent characteristics. To examine these questions, we rely on both correlational methods and the evaluation of experimental manipulation of question wording and question sequence that were implemented in these surveys. We believe that these analyses can provide valuable insights into which questions need to be asked and to which people in order to reach as many young people as possible, even on complex topics. The results could also have implications for dealing with other challenging populations, such as adults with low interest or engagement.
Professor Dirk Schubotz (Queen's University Belfast) - Presenting Author
Young Life and Times (YLT) is an annual social attitude survey undertaken among
16-year olds in Northern Ireland since 2003. It is widely used for policy making, e.g in
education, good relations, community safety, health, children’s and young people’s
rights and gender-based violence. In its 22 year history YLT has covered an
expansive number of questions, but as society changes, so do the lives young
people.
In spring of 2025, the 22 nd sweep of the annual YLT survey takes place. For the first
time, the survey covers some questions on young people’s experiences of crimes
and illegal activities in social media. This will include questions of being a victim of
illegal behaviours on social media, such as grooming, online sexual or other abuse,
stalking, identity theft etc. It will also cover the prevalence of this happening and the
platforms used; but also young people’s own activities in relation to all of these
behaviours.
At the time of drafting this abstract this research has not yet taken place, however, in
July I propose to report back to the ESRA community about the feasibility of asking
such questions in an anonymous online survey. There is no reliable data about social
media crimes and illegal activities as much of this goes un-reported or takes place
under cover. YLT may provide an opportunity to ‘guesstimate’ the proportion of
young people at the receiving end of such activities, but also to what extent they
perpetrate these. These questions may of course turn out top be too hot to handle,
and the ESRA presentation, if accepted, shall contain a critical review of what
worked and what did not work.
Dr Diana Schacht (German Youth Institute (DJI)) - Presenting Author
Dr Anne Berngruber (German Youth Institute (DJI))
Longitudinal studies on youth transitions are essential for understanding developmental processes but face significant challenges due to the dynamic nature of this population. Panel attrition is influenced by socio-demographic factors, survey experience shaped by study design, and significant life changes that increase dropout likelihood. This study tests these predictors in a youth survey and explores additional factors particularly relevant to this group, such as identity exploration, growing independence, and frequent transitions, which may also impact retention.
The analysis draws on data from the “Growing Up in Germany - AID:A” study, involving nearly 4,800 participants aged 12 to 28 at baseline in 2019, with four waves conducted (2019, 2020, 2021, and 2023). Attrition patterns were analyzed by comparing respondents who participated in all four waves with those who dropped out at any wave and classifying them into four groups: stayers (9%), early drop-outs (34%), later drop-outs (6%), and drop-ins (50%).
Logistic regression analyses reveal that socio-demographic factors such as gender, migration background, and academic performance significantly predict attrition patterns. Survey experience, such as the length of the first interview, also affects retention. The findings support the hypothesis that respondents experiencing substantial life changes are more likely to drop out; for example, participants aged 18 years or older were more likely to attrite. Factors related to growing independence, such as frequent social interactions with friends, also influence retention, with those meeting friends more often being less likely to remain in the panel.
By addressing these methodological challenges and using detailed classifications of attrition, this study advances the understanding of attrition dynamics and their impact on data quality, contributing to more accurate and representative findings in longitudinal youth research.