Browsing by Author "Immonen, Eetu"

Objectives: There is already strong evidence of the negative impact of the global COVID-19 virus pandemic on the well-being of young people, especially on their study and work engagement, but there are relatively few studies comparing different life situations of young people. This thesis examines whether there are differences in the study and work engagement and resilience of young people born in 2000 living in different life situations during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the summer of 2020. In addition, the differences in study and work engagement of young people in different life situations are examined further by controlling their resilience. The participants are divided into three different life situations: full-time students, young people preparing for entrance exams, and employed. The multidimensional effects of the coronavirus on young people's engagement and their life situations are examined using ecological systems theory. Methods: The participants of the thesis (N = 250) were young people born in 2000 living mainly in the metropolitan area of Finland. The study and work engagement of the subjects was measured with the EDA scale consisting of nine items and resilience with the BRS scale consisting of six items. Differences in motivation and resilience between groups (students n = 91; applicants = 130; employed n = 45) were examined using variance analysis and the effect of resilience on engagement was controlled using analysis of covariance. Results and conclusions: The study engagement of the student group was statistically significantly lower compared to the entrance exam applicants and the employed. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in the resilience of the subjects. In addition, the difference in engagement between the groups remained the same when resilience was taken into account as a covariate in the analysis. The study engagement of the student group is in line with previous studies about the pandemic. The results of the thesis open up views on the connections between young people's diverse life situations and study and work engagement during the pandemic. It would be important to continue researching the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people's study and work engagement and broader well-being, so that in the future we would be better prepared to protect young people in similar exceptional situations.