About one in ten Dutch young adults experience problems during the transition from education to work, which threatens their health and livelihood. What distinguishes these young adults from their peers is that they are more likely to have been exposed to adverse experiences during their childhood.
Adverse experiences such as poverty, child abuse and bullying are common in the Netherlands. About half of Dutch children experience at least one adversity during childhood, while one in ten children experience four or more adverse experiences.
The dissertation by Tjeerd Rudmer (René) de Vries shows that adverse experiences in childhood are the beginning of a series of setbacks that continue into young adulthood. Young adults without education, employment and their own income often grew up in poverty and were exposed to child abuse, bullying and parental substance use during childhood. These experiences put the child at an increased risk of experiencing mental health problems during adolescence, which are subsequently an important reason for inactivity during young adulthood.
A socioeconomic context characterized by poverty and unemployment is a breeding ground for the intergenerational transmission of adverse experiences such as child abuse. Today, the responsibility for preventing such experiences largely befalls parents. However, this dissertation argues for a focus on improving the socioeconomic conditions of families wherein adverse experiences commonly occur. Given that preventing adverse experiences is complicated, it is also important that individuals who are exposed to adverse experiences during childhood have access to continued care and support, from childhood to young adulthood.
