Youth marginalisation in South Africa since democracy

Marginalisation is often part of youth research, but rarely systematically defined or measured. This chapter analyses the efficacy of a model of marginalisation that includes a range of variables- values and attitudes, psycho-social and socio-economic indicators and others- in order to identify youth who are doing fine, or may be ‘at risk’ groups and thus may be diverted, as well as those who seem virtually ‘lost’ to any intervention- and to develop policy recommendations for intervening appropriately. In this way, youth are not placed in a binary- marginalised or not- but spread across a scale of need and possible vulnerability. Marginalisation is understood as a dynamic process, where youth agency may be in conflict with the material or other pursuits of elders. The model was developed and road-tested in multiple locations from its early years in 1992/3, to assess its value in identifying who may be in (more or less acute) need of assistance, and of what sort, so that youth can find pathways out of marginalisation. The model is now used for larger, non-youth specific populations.