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Introduction: The period of adolescence is crucial for identity development, including the formation of trust towards individuals and institutions. Given contemporary concerns such as climate change, promoting positive future orientations among adolescents is challenging, yet essential for understanding their overall well-being. This study investigates relationships between two types of trust (interpersonal and institutional) and future orientations among vocational education students in The Netherlands. Moreover, this study also investigates whether just world beliefs (JWB) mediate these relationships. Methods: The total sample of this study consists of 810 participants, who filled in a questionnaire designed in the YOUth Got Talent project. Regression analyses were conducted to explore expectations that interpersonal and institutional trust are positively associated with future orientations (H1). Mediation analyses examined the expectation that JWB could explain the relationship between adolescents’ trust and future orientations (H2). Results: Results support both hypotheses on both forms of trust. JWB partially mediates the relationship between both forms of trust and future orientations, with the mediation model with interpersonal trust explaining 24,9% of future orientation outcomes, and the mediation model with institutional trust explaining 19,2% of future orientation outcomes. Conclusion: It is concluded that trust and just world beliefs might be interrelated in predicting future orientations. Both are essential for shaping adolescents’ perspectives on the future, highlighting the importance of cultivating trust to enhance adolescents’ future orientations and well-being. Practical advice includes developing interventions to enhance adolescents’social skills, promoting effective parenting strategies for trust within families, and ensuring transparent communications from institutions.

This study examines the association between discrimination due to sex and future expectations among female secondary vocational education students in the Netherlands while focusing on the influence of system justification beliefs (SJB) on this association – the belief that society treats everyone equally. Positive future expectations are crucial for mental wellbeing, as they positively influence adolescent development, resilience, and goal-setting. It was hypothesized that sex-based discrimination negatively impacts female students’ future expectations and that this association is negatively influenced by SJB. This cross-sectional study, including 653 Dutch female vocational students (Mage = 17.2), used validated self-report measures to assess sex-based discrimination, future expectations, and SJB while controlling for age via multiple linear regression analyses. Results showed a small significant negative association between sex-based discrimination and future expectations, indicating that women who experience sex-based discrimination have less positive expectations for their future. However, this association was not dependent on SJB. SJB were a significant predictor of future expectations themselves, indicating that women who believe society to be equal have more positive expectations for the future. These findings contribute to the scientific knowledge of these constructs and have important implications for policymakers. Interventions that reduce sex-based discrimination and support an equal society can improve future expectations among women. Future research should use a longitudinal design to establish causal relationships between the constructs and should use a heterogeneous sample for better generalizability. This study highlights the importance of creating an equal society where everyone, regardless of gender, can look forward to a brighter future.

Dutch adolescents express significant concerns about their future, including education, employment, and equitable opportunities (Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, 2022). Addressing these concerns is crucial to foster positive future expectations and reduce risk behaviour (Cerqueira et al., 2022; Kim & Kim, 2020; Prince et al., 2016). This study investigates the impact of discrimination due to socioeconomic status (SES) on the future expectations of Vocational Education and Training (VET) students, and the influence of family support on this relationship. Data from the YOUth Got Talent project in the Netherlands was used, with a total sample of N=1102 adolescents (M age = 17.38). A multiple linear regression was conducted to examine the relationship between perceived discrimination due to SES and future expectations, as well as the moderating effect of family support. Results support hypothesis 1, revealing that higher levels of perceived discrimination due to SES are associated with decreased positive future expectations. Contrary to hypothesis 2, family support did not moderate this relationship significantly. These results contribute to the broader understanding on the impact of discrimination on youth development and advocate for policies regarding social equality and inclusion. Additionally, the findings of this study highlight the importance of addressing discrimination in the Dutch society to foster positive future expectations among adolescents. Future research should explore the interactions in an intersectionality framework, containing various forms of discrimination and studying their individual and combined effects on future expectations. Overall, this study highlights the importance of studying socio-economic discrimination and its implications for future outcomes and opportunities.

Positive future expectations are declining among Dutch youth, reflected in Dutch secondary vocational education students. This trend can disrupt youth from successfully transitioning into adulthood. Lower positive future expectations can decrease long-term health outcomes, decrease positive behaviors, increase risk behaviors, and disrupt optimal development. One possible explanation for this trend is the increase of money worries among Dutch youth. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the association between money worries and future expectations among Dutch secondary vocational education students (N = 785). Lower future expectations might also be caused by facing social inequalities, weakening ideas that the world is just (JWB). Facing money worries can contradict the notion that the world is just, subsequently lowering future expectations. So, the second aim was to examine if the association between money worries and future expectations was explained through Just World Beliefs, using a mediation analysis. Results showed significant results for both hypotheses. Money worries in this study was significantly associated with future expectations, and this effect could partially be explained through just world beliefs. Interventions concerning positive psychology or financial literacy should be considered in the Dutch secondary vocational education system to prevent these trends of increasing money worries or weakening future expectations from exacerbating. As youth already face more and more uncertainties in their lives, it is important to make sure that they can be at least confident about their future.

This study examines the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and system justification, a topic with varied findings in existing literature. Some studies suggest that lower SES individuals are more likely to justify the social system, while other studies report conflicting results. However, justifying the system while having a low-SES can have adverse consequences. It is associated with lower levels of self-esteem, increased levels of depression, neuroticism, ambivalence, and internalized stigma. Therefore, promoting a reduction in system justification among those with low-SES is important. Civic engagement could play a key role in reducing system justification. This study utilizes cross-sectional data from the Youth Got Talent database to examine whether the relationship between SES and system justification depends on civic engagement among vocational education students. A total of 434 students with a mean age of 17.5 participated in the study. Results indicated that SES was not negatively associated with system justification; instead, a non-significant positive relationship was observed. An explanation for this non-significant relation could be the way SES was measured. This highlights the need for future studies to examine the relationship between SES and system justification by measuring subjective and objective SES separately to gain a nuanced understanding of their distinct impacts on system justification. Furthermore, results showed that the relationship between SES and system justification did not depend on civic engagement. However, civic engagement had a significant positive association with system justification, underscoring the need to further explore how discussing and reflecting on societal issues influences perceptions of social justice.

In dit rapport wordt besproken hoe Mentoring Urban Talent bij kan dragen aan het schoolsucces van leerlingen in de derde klas van het vwo en gymnasium in Rotterdam en Amsterdam. In Mentoring Urban Talent werden studentmentoren aan leerlingen gekoppeld, waarmee beoogden bij te dragen aan de sociaal-emotionele, cognitieve en identiteitsontwikkeling van leerlingen. Met kwantitatieve en kwalitatieve methoden onderzochten we de effecten van mentoring op gevoel van verbondenheid met school, motivatie, netwerk oriëntatie (houding t.o.v. (academisch) hulp vragen) en geloof in eigen kunnen. Trends in de data lijken te wijzen op een bufferend effect van mentoring. Ook uit de interviews blijkt dat mentees ervaren dat mentoring bijdraagt aan hun schoolsucces, voornamelijk door het vergroten van hun motivatie. Suggesties voor vervolgonderzoek betreffen de uitvoer van het programma en het in meer detail onderzoeken van de bijdrage van overeenkomsten tussen mentor en mentee voor de verschillende uitkomsten.

In het huidige rapport wordt het probleem van het relatief grote percentage leerlingen met een lage sociaaleconomische status en/of migratie achtergrond dat in de derde of vierde klas afstroomt naar een lager onderwijstype onderzocht. Het rapport is onderdeel van het Mentoring Urban Talent onderzoeksproject. Behalve een onderzoek naar afstroomcijfers in Rotterdam en Amsterdam, en de betekenis van deze afstroom voor de leerlingen zelf, onderzoekt Mentoring Urban Talent de effecten van een mentoring traject. In dit mentoring traject zijn studenten van de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam en de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam gekoppeld aan leerlingen van vijf verschillende scholen in de beide steden. Het proces en de effecten van het mentoring project zijn onderzocht in een studie met een quasi-experimentele opzet waarin kwalitatieve en kwantitatieve methoden zijn gecombineerd. De uitkomsten van deze studie zijn opgenomen in rapport 2 over de mentees, en rapport 3 over de mentoren. In het huidige rapport over afstroom ligt de focus in het eerste deel op de cijfers en in het tweede deel komt de betekenis van de afstroom voor leerlingen aan bod. Onderzoek gefinancierd door Nationaal Regieorgaan Onderwijsonderzoek. (NRO Mentoring Urban Talent onderzoeksproject 40.5.18540.115)

Mentoring Urban Talent is een mentorprogramma gericht op Amsterdamse en Rotterdamse scholieren om afstroom van het vwo of gymnasium te voorkomen, en doorstroom te bevorderen door middel van ondersteuning en begeleiding door een mentor. Mentoren waren studenten van de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam en Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam die zich vrijwillig hadden opgegeven en voor een periode van 20 weken wekelijks met de leerling afspraken. Het programma was gestructureerd, waarbij leerlingen stapsgewijs toegerust werden in studievaardigheden en emotionele ondersteuning en loopbaanbegeleiding ontvingen van hun mentor. Studentmentoren konden daarbij vanuit hun eigen ervaring leerlingen kennis laten maken met de universiteit en obstakels in leren en ontwikkeling bespreken. Onderzoek naar dit programma richt zich in de eerste plaats op de effecten voor de leerlingen met een mentor (zgn. mentees), maar ook voor de studentmentoren zijn er mogelijk positieve effecten van de deelname aan het programma. In dit rapport beschrijven we de aanleiding en uitkomsten van onderzoek naar effecten op mentoren

This dissertation sheds light on the role of social networks in supporting at-risk youth. Findings show the relation between social support and youth's wellbeing, and options for strengthening the network through mentoring are being explored.