Youth and class; In the matter of defining and attribution

This article, based on a qualitative method, and by using semi-structured interviews, seeks to find out how young people attribute themselves to a particular class and how they define their social class. The sample includes 25 single and married young people of different ages, with various class origins. The study states that, from the youth's point of view, class consists of social and cultural aspects. This makes the class interpretable, in such a way that the same situations create different class judgments. This is reinforced by the fact that young people still are not independent and therefore, without a stable job status, define their class position through family features with symbolic and cultural criteria. Similarly, since the classification of young people is built on distinct definitions, it does not create separate social generalities. The result is an ambiguity in classification practices and lack of class boundaries in the lives of the youth. Class ambiguity causes young people to not find a common understanding of their social situation. These procedures motivate young people to subjectively attribute a more pre-eminent class position to themselves and thereby overestimate their ability to shape their biographies. This leads to the delusion of an agency in which young people feel they are building their future. It can be interpreted as an epistemological fallacy in young people's perception of their world that could mislead them toward being guilty of their failures.