At least for young people

Mar 11, 2009 15:57 GMT  ·  By
Going to college is the best thing young adults can do in times of economic recession
   Going to college is the best thing young adults can do in times of economic recession

University of Sheffield professor of Human Geography Danny Dorling has written in an editorial published today in the online edition of the British Medical Journal that the best option young people could consider in times of economic crisis is to attend college. In periods of mass-unemployment or when individuals get fired sooner than they can see it coming, the youth should not focus its efforts on getting a workplace, but rather on finishing their studies and obtaining an education that would make them more qualified than their peers once the crisis passes.

Studies in the early 1990s showed that high levels of unemployment were harmful to the average white male, as depression and suicide rates spiked, as did the incidence of other mental conditions. In the 40 to 59 age group, deaths doubled between 1980 and 1985, as a massive wave of lay-offs affected this category the most. Dorling explains in his editorial that unemployment is actually detrimental to an individual's health, which is exactly what scientists in capitalist countries should say.

According to the researcher, more than 2,500 premature deaths (as in suicides) are prevented each year by reducing the numbers of people without a job, but the health benefits vary greatly according to the methods employed for doing this. If young adults go to college after they finish high school, the risk of them becoming depressed decreases considerably, the scientist uphold. Studies have evidenced the fact that this segment of the population is worst affected when jobs become widely unavailable.

Secure work is the best option for youths between 16 and 24, but in times of crisis there are very few positions to accommodate all the demands. The next best thing is properly rewarded and organized apprenticeship, followed by temporary employment and youth opportunity-type schemes. But in the 1980s and the 1990s, the best occupation for these teens and young adults was to continue their education. Going to college has been associated with a lower risk of suicide.