Youth and social support : a case study of middle class Jakarta youth
Creators: name: Wilson, Jane
Publisher: name: University Of Tasmania
Year: 2023

description: This research investigated the experience of middle class youth in Jakarta, Indonesia. The thesis is divided into two studies. Study One describes the Australian trial of the research method. Study Two contains the research outcomes on Jakarta youth. Based on an ecological contextual perspective and grounded theory, the data was collected through semi-structured life history interviews. In the first emic study, the researcher trialed a series of techniques with a sample of Australian youth from two youth centers. The life history interview, combined with the availability of the youth from youth centers, was seen as an efficient and cost effective means of accessing a range of suitable subjects. The researcher then adapted the method for use in the second or etic study in Jakarta with youth from a drug dependence unit and a youth club. For study two, the interviews were conducted in the months leading up to the Indonesian General Election in June 1999. This second study was implemented in close consultation with Indonesian psychologists to ensure that cross cultural and ethical issues, such as confidentiality and informed consent, were managed appropriately. The twenty-six interviews with Moslem and Christian youth were transcribed and translated with data coded for contextual factors, social support and satisfaction. Results indicate that youth valued the social support received and available from their families with relatively fewer references to peers and siblings. With Jakarta youth, evidence was found that the transition to autonomy was delayed into early 20s, as compared to Westen youth, with conflict with parents continuing longer for that reason. Youth in study two referred ambivalently to their dislike of sharp verbal reprimands and parental pressure to attend school or university at the same time as a need for parental discipline. Jakarta youth expressed a stronger sense of responsibility toward both parents and family members as compared to Western youth, especially if they were the only male child or the eldest child. This result is consistent with Indonesia's collectivistic culture and social norm that unmarried youth live with their families. In addition, mothers provide considerably more support than fathers, especially emotional. It was found that fathers provided more advice and tangible support and were sources of higher rates of dissatisfying support than mothers, consistent with their more distant role in the family. There was some evidence that dissatisfying parental support negatively buffered risky health behavior while satisfying parental support, both perceived and available, positively buffered youth during transition and crisis. The research showed that the lives of the youth were affected by the Indonesian monetary and political crisis (K.rismon), both directly and indirectly. The research approach was predominantly Western, although adapted for use in an Asian culture, and combined theories o~ adolescent behavior and social support. When applied to Jakarta youth, a number of new concepts and understandings emerged. The result is a series of guiding principles that can be utilized in the design and implementation of programs for youth in the Jakarta community.