Early Identification of At-Risk Youth in Latin America : An Application of Cluster Analysis
A new literature on the nature of and policies for youth in Latin America is emerging, but there is still very little known about who are the most vulnerable young people. This paper aims to characterize the heterogeneity in the youth population a...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/10/8474831/early-identification-at-risk-youth-latin-america-application-cluster-analysis http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7571 |
| Summary: | A new literature on the nature of and
policies for youth in Latin America is emerging, but there
is still very little known about who are the most vulnerable
young people. This paper aims to characterize the
heterogeneity in the youth population and identify ex ante
the youth that are at-risk and should be targeted with
prevention programs. Using non-parametric methodologies and
specialized youth surveys from Mexico and Chile, the authors
quantify and characterize the different sub-groups of youth,
according to the amount of risk in their lives, and find
that approximately 20 percent of 18 to 24 year old Chileans
and 40 percent of the same age cohort in Mexico are
suffering the consequences of a range of negative behaviors.
Another 8 to 20 percent demonstrate factors in their lives
that pre-dispose them to becoming at-risk youth - they are
the candidates for prevention programs. The analysis finds
two observable variables that can be used to identify which
children have a higher probability of becoming troubled
youth: poverty and residing in rural areas. The analysis
also finds that risky behaviors increase with age and differ
by gender, thereby highlighting the need for program and
policy differentiation along these two demographic dimensions. |
|---|