'Taking Control of Their Lives?' First Findings from a Comparative Study of Personal Agency and Social Structures in Young Adult Transitions in England and the New Germany. Revised Version.

A study explored how young adults experience control and exercise personal agency (self-determination) as they pass through periods of transition in education and training, work, unemployment, and in their personal lives. Data were gathered through structured questionnaires administered to at least 100 young adults from universities and companies, and among unemployed young people in each of these three contexts in two localities in Germany and one in England that were experiencing economic transformation. In addition, 21 group interviews were carried out involving 136 participants from these groups. First findings from the study showed that choice and uncertainty can be important dimensions in young adults' biographies in the current moment. Their experiences and actions are not exclusively determined by socializing and structural influences, but also involve elements of subjectivity, choice, and agency. The research is expected to contribute to understanding of the process involved in becoming independent and personally effective in different settings. It is also expected to add to the debate about the most effective ways to support transitions in early adult life. (Contains 19 references.) (KC)