PREVENTING YOUTHFUL DISCONNECTEDNESS

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this articl e examines the characteristics (and later life histories) of 16- to 23 -year-olds who, during the 1980s, were ''disconnected'' from mainstrea m society, that is, they were not enrolled in school, not gainfully em ployed, not in the military, and not married to someone who was ''conn ected'' in one of these ways. One in three youths were disconnected fo r at least half of a calendar year. As adults, youths who were disconn ected for a short time (in only one or two years) did not differ subst antially from those who were never disconnected an terms of educationa l attainment, work history, family income, reliance on government prog rams, and marital status. However, those who were disconnected in thre e or more years experienced significantly greater hardships. This arti cle suggests that school-related interventions (such as career-oriente d education, after-school ''safe havens,'' and targeting individual de ficits) might help prevent youthful disconnectedness.