2016 Volume 67 Issue 2 Pages 222-237
In Japan, the increasing number of young people experiencing crisis in transition is constantly highlighted in many studies since the early 2000s. These young people tend to experience reduction or localization of social networks, resulting in limited access to social capital. The significance of public youth support institutions, launched in the 2000s, is repeatedly stressed. However, these services have not yet been strategically examined to overcome the difficulties of social networking. This study analyzes Regional Youth Support Stations (RYSS) to examine similar strategies.
According to Lin (2001-2008), social interactions form the basis of access to social capital, and can be categorized as homophilous or heterophilous interactions. This study identifies two types of difficulties for both constrained access to heterophilous interactions (hereafter abbreviated [A]) and instrumental limitations of homophilous interactions (hereafter abbreviated [B]). RYSS strategies are analyzed based on how these institutions address [A] and [B] through the services they provide.
[A] is addressed through outreach services provided by Connexions Service, an important precedent for RYSS and partly adopted by it. However, the examination of strategic changes at a local RYSS agency in this study indicated that some young people still hesitate in forthcoming heterophilous interactions despite overcoming the first [A] through their interactions with RYSS personnel. Interactions with young people facing similar situations effectively address the problem, because they convince their own resources through the interactions. Personnel advise young people by showing them different perspectives and providing new resources for future heterophilous interactions with others who were involved in their status attainment, thus supplementing [B]. This study examines how both heterophilous and homophilous interactions play complementary roles in supporting young people experiencing crisis in transition.