Hva kjennetegner ungdom som går på norske fritidsklubber og ungdomshus?

Abstract

SammendragDenne artikkelen undersøker hva som kjennetegner norske ungdommer som bruker fritidsklubber. Er det noen trekk ved ungdommers sosiale bakgrunn, helsesituasjon, sosiale relasjoner, fritidsmønster eller eventuell problematferd som øker eller reduserer sannsynligheten for at ungdom bruker fritidsklubbene? Og i hvilken grad varierer dette mellom kommuner av ulik størrelse? Analysene viser at ungdom som går på fritidsklubb ikke skiller seg mye fra ungdom som ikke bruker klubbene. Samtidig er tendensen til å bruke klubbene høyest blant ungdom som har relativt få sosioøkonomiske ressurser hjemme og blant dem som er mest utilfreds med egen helse, eller som i størst grad er utsatt for vold eller mobbing eller begår regelbrudd. Analysen viser videre at ungdom som går på fritidsklubb, i stor grad også driver med andre organiserte fritidsaktiviteter som for eksempel idrett. Dette funnet brukes i artikelen i en diskusjon av hvorvidt klubbene kan virke forebyggende mot ulike typer ungdomsproblemer. Diskusjonen tar utgangspunkt i svensk forskning, som har påvist sammenheng mellom det å gå på fritidsklubb og det å vaere involvert i kriminalitet og regelbrudd. Artikkelen bygger på spørreskjemasvar fra et landsrepresentativt utvalg av norske ungdommer i alderen 13 til 16 år i årene 2015 til 2017 N=117 429. AbstractThis article investigates the social background, health, social relations and social behaviour of youth who attend youth or leisure clubs in Norway. The analysis is based on questionnaire responses from a nationally representative sample of youths (aged 13-16) between 2015 and 2017. We ask how these variables affect the likelihood of individuals attending youth clubs, and how this may vary between municipalities of different demographic size. Further, we investigate whether youth attending clubs also report that they are engaged in other organized leisure activities. The analysis shows that youths who attend youth clubs, and youths who do not use such clubs, are essentially similar. However, the likelihood of attending youth clubs increases with low level of socio-economic resources, the presence of health problems, being a victim of violence or bullying, or involvement in criminal offending. Some differences between small and large municipalities are discernible. Further, the analysis shows that youths who attend youth clubs also engage in other organized leisure activities such as sports. This finding brings nuance to the discussion on the effect of youth clubs as a social policy measure in Norway N=117 429.

Conceptualizing Well-being in Youth: The Potential of Youth Clubs

“…Results from the first stage of this research project, an analysis of Norwegian survey data ( N = 110,100), add to previous accounts of risks and promise associated with youth clubs. On the one hand, the analysis confirms correlations between youth club attendance, low socio-economic status, self-reported problem behaviour and health problems (Seland & Andersen, 2020). The sample of 6 per cent of the 13–16-year-old respondents, who had been to youth clubs five times or more in the last month, have poorer self-reported health, higher rates of being bullied, report more frequent problem behaviour and poorer relationships with parents and school than those who go to clubs less frequently or who never attend youth clubs.…”

“…Based on our analysis of the afore-mentioned Norwegian Ungdata surveys (Seland & Andersen, 2020), we sought to capture the perspectives of frequent club-goers as well as adult club leaders’ experiences from working with this group. We have conducted three group interviews with 14 teenagers (aged 14–20, 7 boys and 7 girls) and individual interviews with three club leaders (aged 35–50, 2 men and 1 woman).…”

“…This may affect their relations with youth club-goers, meaning our sample may run the risk of exaggerating positive experiences from the club. Still, we believe our sample strategy to be fruitful for approaching possible vulnerable youth from a very small group (6%) of the total number of youth club visitors (Seland & Andersen, 2020).…”

“…The current 670 youth clubs in Norway (Statistics Norway, 2019) charge no or only symbolic fees and place no demands on regular attendance or parents’ time or effort. Therefore, youth clubs are often described as alternatives to organized leisure activities like sports (Gjertsen & Olsen, 2011), and they are popular among Norwegian youths: One-third of the pupils in lower secondary school attend a youth club at least once a month (Seland & Andersen, 2020).…”

Processes of Precarious Living Conditions: Young Men of Ethnic Minority Background Growing up in Socially Deprived Housing Areas in the Danish Welfare State

“…In relation to the parents' expenses for their children's participation in leisure and youth clubs, 17 this varies from the different municipalities, and it is also possible to apply for so-called financially free space, 18 so that children and young people are able to participate in leisure activities, independently of parents' income. In a Danish context, a report from the Danish Evaluation Institute, EVA [54] points out that children and young people with an ethnic minority background are more likely to be enrolled in clubs than ethnic Danish children and young people, which also seems to apply to the other Nordic countries [25,[55][56][57].…”