Young people with no ties. The role of intermediate structures in a disadvantaged area

Abstract

This article describes the new forms of youth disaffi liation (Castel, 1995), taking a deprived urban area of Madrid as a case study. Through an ethnographic methodology, this study examines the role (positive or negative) played by intermediate structures (the family, the ethic community and the associations) in the social integration of youth from Moroccan, Dominican and Ecuadorian origin. As the sociology of education (Bourdieu, 1970) has been demonstrated, I describe the fundamental role of the family in the process of reintegration. In the other hand, the research shows the double effects of the ethnic networks in youth integration and demonstrates the crucial role of local associations. These organizations, benefi ciary from the social mobilization in the 70s, have the capacity to offer new ways of integration, through an effective collaboration between the administrations, the families and the ethnic communities.