Abstract

Social Exclusion - Consequences and Prevention

Margaret Dechman

The consequences of social exclusion appear in many forms: mental heath problems, long-term social assistance requirements, homelessness, and incarceration. Longitudinal research and the experiential evidence of social workers, psychologists, corrections officers, and physicians demonstrate that the most severe difficulties in adulthood are typically the end result of a history of problems that started much earlier in life. For example, many of those who find themselves on the streets, on social assistance caseloads, or in correctional facilities have experienced disruptive home environments, difficulties with the school system, and/or isolation from the larger community. Thus, attempts to re-integrate such individuals into economic or social spheres confront not only the final problem but also the host of financial, human resource, and social support deficits that cumulated in this end result.

A socially inclusive research and policy agenda should encompass both restorative and preventative components. Creating a more inclusive society requires not only the reintegration of those individuals who have fallen outside the family, school, community, and/or labour force, but also the progressive redesign of such structures and systems to reduce the extent to which such exclusion occurs.

Some critical questions to be confronted within such a research agenda include:

• What are the conditions under which family, community, and employment relationships break down?
• How could success be reconceptualized to maximize the contributions of many different individuals?
• What types of system development and evaluation are needed to enable a more comprehensive assessment of the multiple and compounding processes of exclusion?

In the final analysis, inclusion depends upon creating a place for people within social structures rather than merely intervening once they have begun to exhibit the problems associated with exclusion.

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