Vulnerabilities and Resilience of Young People: Evidence from Young Lives India
Vulnerabilities and Resilience of Young People: Evidence from Young Lives India
17th November 2022
by Renu Singh and Protap Mukherjee
Young Lives Five Telephonic Surveys summarise the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health seeking behaviour, COVID-19 tests and vaccinations, loss of livelihood, education, employment and mental health of young people in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The first telephonic survey was undertaken during first lockdown (Jun-July 2020) and the last telephonic survey was conducted during Oct-Dec, 2021 with a total sample of 2,719 young people. Some of the important findings from five rounds of telephonic surveys are given below:
What was the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic? Findings From Five Rounds of Telephone Survey
Covid-10 related behaviour: While washing hands more often than before was reported by almost every respondent (96%), however only 2.4% of the YL sample were found to be ‘working from home’ in July 2020 which further reduced to 1.5% by Nov 2020.
One young person pointed out that:
“Corona virus is like any other virus … we have to be careful about it. We have to wear masks and use sanitizers.”
Covid-19 Tests and Vaccinations: Access to COVID-19 tests was reported by almost every respondent (99%) and 8% of them undertook testing suspecting COVID infection with more than half testing positive (59%).
By Oct-Dec 2021, more than three out of every five young person (65%) were vaccinated (at least one dose). Among those who were not vaccinated, the major reason reported was ‘worrying about side-effects’.
Education: The Enrolment rate reduced from 69% in Dec 2019 (pre-covid) to 55% in Oct-Dec 2021 with significantly higher rate of dropping out amongst girls. Half of the respondents perceived the quality of education to have dipped during the pandemic compared to the quality of education perceived pre-pandemic time.
Loss of Livelihood and Coping Strategies: During the first wave of the pandemic, 40% of households reported ‘loss of livelihood’. To cope up with livelihood loss, 63% of the respondents relied on savings, followed by receiving assistance from friends/families (23%). It is important to note that in June-July 2020, 15% of the respondents commented that their households ran out of food during the pandemic. The good news is that this percentage reduced to 1% by Oct-Dec 2021. According to one of the family members:
‘we didn’t have money to spend and eat. We took loans…. we have taken money on interest.’…. we had to struggle for daily food …we are accustomed to working in daily wage work…. due to that we had to consume food only once in a day.’
Nearly 35% of the 26-27 years old lost their livelihood during the lockdown in 2020 and by Aug-Oct 2020, 26-years old women were 65% less likely to be in regular salaried jobs compared to men of the same age.
Mental Health: During Aug-Oct 2020, 15% and 12% of the respondents aged 26 were found to demonstrating symptoms of anxiety and depression respectively which remained almost the same (13% anxiety and 12% depression) by Oct-Dec 2021.
- Enhance inter-sectoral convergence of schemes using a life-course approach in order to provide seamless services for the most disadvantaged populations.
- Improve supply chain management, transport infrastructure and climate change need to be addressed urgently through new techniques and technology for ensuring ‘Zero Hunger’.
- Support Female labour force participation by providing care services to women and build agency to take decisions related to marriage, fertility, career etc.
- Address the Digital Divide and provide mental health support. By ensuring services and digital access and mental health services are provided to the most disadvantaged families.
- Increase spending on research to find out ‘what works’ and develop evidence-based policies.
Educational and Occupational Trajectories of Adolescents and Youth with Disabilities
This study aims to address this gap in relation to adolescents and young people in India. The
research brought together analysis of Young Lives longitudinal study data collected since 2001,
with findings from an in-depth qualitative study conducted by Young Lives India in Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana in November-December 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The
study findings were discussed with a research advisory group to address policy gaps and
develop policy recommendations to enhance the quality of life of persons with disabilities.
This report draws upon panel data from five rounds of Young Lives longitudinal survey (2001-
2016) to analyse the self-assessed educational and occupational outcomes of 100 young persons
with disabilities (a Younger Cohort age 15 and an Older Cohort age 22 in 2016).3 It also draws on
a subsequent qualitative sub-study conducted with a nested sample of 34 young persons with
disabilities and their caregivers, when they were age 18 (Younger Cohort) and 25 (Older Cohort).
The study explores the facilitators and barriers that adolescents and youth with disabilities face in
their educational trajectories, and their related transitions to the labour market, marriage and
family formation. It also captures the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on their lives and
aspirations for the future.
Marital and Fertility Decision-Making Report: The Lived Experiences of Adolescents and Young Married Couples in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, India
This report presents findings from a qualitative study exploring married adolescent girls and young couples’ experiences of fertility decision-making in the context of early marital life, in two southern Indian states (Andhra Pradesh and Telanaga). The research was carried out as part of Young Lives, a longitudinal study of childhood poverty that traced the life trajectories of 3,000 children and their households located in these states, over a 15-year period. By age 18, around 30 per cent of girls in the Young Lives study had married, and 23 per cent of these married girls had also become mothers.