Hanging Out in the Past: Looking for Trouble or Romance? An Exploration of the Practice and Meaning of Hanging Out for Young Dutch People in 1930

Abstract

Keywords

Youth hanging out qualitative research history of youth the Netherlands

Young people’s ‘hanging out’ has had different meanings in the recent and distant past in various countries and cultures, including delinquency or a common social phenomenon. Although there is evidence for hanging out as social behaviour in various countries, Dutch research on hanging out as a common social phenomenon is scarce. This article retrospectively explores the practice and meaning of hanging out for young people in the Netherlands between 1930 and 1960. Semi-structured qualitative interviews (n = 60) were analysed using the Constant Comparative Method, resulting in three key themes: familiarity, features and the meanings assigned to hanging out. Results indicate that hanging out was practised and known by most respondents, and included particular features (time, location, gender and routines). Meet, flirt with and date other young people was the most frequently mentioned meaning associated with hanging out. Accordingly, hanging out can indeed be considered to have been a common social phenomenon.

Footnotes

Authors’ Bio-sketch

Anne F. Kievitsbosch is a PhD candidate in Youth Studies in the Department of Pedagogical and Educational Sciences at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Her research focuses on youth life in peer groups (i.e., young people as socializing agents) among the generations (i.e., child, parent and grandparent). She has a broad interest in research on children and young people in various contexts (e.g., residential youth care, secondary education) and has earlier, as co-author, published about child sexual abuse in residential youth care.

Margaretha C. Timmerman is a youth sociologist and full professor of the research and teaching unit Youth Studies in the Department of Pedagogical and Educational Sciences at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Her research focus is on the social world of youth, changes and continuities in the social world of youth over the generations and on young people’s development, education and upbringing. She has acquired and supervised various research projects commissioned by the EC, the Dutch Science Foundation and the Dutch Government (sexual harassment in secondary education, sexual abuse in residential youth care, youth worlds, young people’s lifestyles, father absence).

Pauline R. Schreuder is an assistant professor in Youth Studies and in Philosophy of Education at the University of Groningen. Her research interest ranges from childhood and youth as social phenomena to professionalization in early childhood education. Recent publications, together with Greetje Timmerman and Anne Kievitsbosch, focus on sexual abuse in residential youth care in the Netherlands.

Diana D. van Bergen received her PhD in sociology from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She is currently working as an assistant professor in the Department of Pedagogical and Educational Sciences, Research Unit for Youth Studies, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, at Groningen University, the Netherlands. Her research interests are minority youth populations and their well-being: ethnic and religious conflict among youth; ethnic and cultural socialization; lesbian, gay and bisexual youth and stigmatization; suicidal behaviour in young minority women.

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Hanging Out in the Past: Looking for Trouble or Romance? An Exploration of the Practice and Meaning of Hanging Out for Young Dutch People in 1930–60

Abstract

Keywords

Footnotes

Authors’ Bio-sketch

References