What is it about ?
Marginalization is the process by which young people gradually find themselves on the margins of society. Adolescents thus marginalize themselves, for example, due to mental or social problems, and receive little attention in the health care sector. This process is complex and often associated with major health problems. Having a disability or having a chronic illness increases the risk of marginalization.
Marginalization can be the result of a complex unfavorable context. The marginalized adolescent often experiences greater difficulties financially, in terms of education, living conditions and necessary skills. This does not prevent some young people living in a certain financial security from finding themselves marginalized. The main risk of marginalization is the interruption of studies.
A previous intervention by child protection services does not necessarily lead to marginalization, and not all marginalized adolescents have such a background. Part of the explanation is that child protection services do not recognize the risk of marginalization in all children.
The causes of marginalization are severe mental disorders such as depression, the psychosis, developmental disorders, antisocial behavior, alcohol and drug consumption, unfavorable living environment including bullying at school or withdrawal from social relations (on the part of the adolescent or his family).
Alcohol abuse, antisocial behavior and depression are also the main factors associated with suicide. The problems are often noticed, but the help available is lacking. It is often the case that caregivers view the adolescent as someone who is lacking in motivation and who has only a brief ability to concentrate.
Who does it affect?
In the past, the phenomenon of marginalization mainly affected boys. But alcohol and drug abuse is now also widespread among girls, so they are also exposed to the risk of marginalization. Most children with psychiatric illnesses are boys, but by the age of 13-14, more girls are also affected.
How to recognize it?
The adolescent participates less and less in social life. One of the characteristics may be absence from school or cessation of studies and / or professional activities. The risk factors for the marginalization of adolescents are generally a set of unfavorable circumstances, such as a difficult (socio-economic) situation, a negative living environment including bullying at school, serious mental disorders such as depression or depression. psychosis, developmental disorders, asocial behavior, alcohol and drug use, and withdrawal from social relationships on the part of the adolescent or his family.
What can you do ?
The risk of marginalization due to psychological factors is often associated with an ambivalent attitude towards help: the adolescent signals that he needs help, but at the same time rejects it. Any psychological disorder that has led to marginalization must be identified and treated. If the adolescent is still enrolled in an educational institution, the first assessment is ideally carried out by the PMS center (psycho-medico-social center). The professionals at these centers can help when your child is often absent from school.
If marginalization is the result of several problems, they should be dealt with as a whole, taking into account the adolescent and those around him. Most of the time, even the reluctant teenager will be willing to accept support if they know they will be listened to and that they will influence the solutions offered. If the teenager has interrupted his studies, he must resume them. A good professional orientation is essential, as well as the analysis of the possibilities of alternating training, for example, of apprenticeship or professional activity within the framework of the revalidation.
Forced interventions are rarely necessary. The emphasis is on flexibility and the importance of paying enough attention and spending enough time with the adolescent. Cooperation with all caregivers and all relevant support services is crucial here, as well as the definition of concrete and unambiguous agreements.
If it is a minor, the parents must be involved in the intervention. Collaboration with social services is generally required. Help can be provided in the living environment (on an outpatient basis), but the adolescent must agree. In some circumstances it may be necessary to place the adolescent.
The administrative support provided to a teenager with multiple problems should not be fragmented: close collaboration is essential. Each organization can take the initiative: social services or health care for students, municipal social services or employment services.
When the risk of marginalization is the consequence of a depression, it is sometimes preferable to help the young person first to follow his school path or his practical training, and only to start treatment afterwards, when the new routines are installed. .
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