Higher Education (HE) is seen as a tool to create job opportunities and enhance individuals' quality of life. Research demonstrates that students' expectations of career success in HE are an important predictor of their motivation and academic attainment. However, there is a lack of clarity about how career success is defined and whether individuals perceive that their experiences (e.g. gender) may be associated with these definitions. In online written interviews with 36 university students in the United Kingdom, we examine how students define career success and how they perceive their identity (gender, socioeconomic status) experiences underpinning these definitions. We analysed three main definitional themes: (a) career success as personal development, (b) career success as individual mobility, and (c) lack of clarity about what career success is. Findings suggest that gender and socioeconomic experiences had an important role in students' understanding of career success, especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Indeed, in the intersection of gender and socioeconomic status, inequalities persist: female students anticipated difficulties in terms of work-life balance and gender stereotypes that constrained their career success definitions. Moreover, family experiences were important to understand students' definitions of career success, particularly for disadvantaged socioeconomic groups. The current research sheds light on an important paradox in HE organisations: while students tend to define career success in relatively individualistic ways, such as individual mobility, financial success, or personal development, it was clear that their social identities (e.g. gender, socioeconomic status) and related experiences played an important role in creating definitions of career success. This further implies that when universities encourage a perception of career success as individual mobility, for example, having better job opportunities, or by espousing the belief that higher education and/or professional sectors are truly meritocratic-this will not always align with, and may create tension for, students from disadvantaged groups.

AbstractSense of belonging is a fundamental human motivation and, in higher education settings, has been associated with students’ motivation and academic outcomes. However, less is known about the nuances of how students define belonging within a university context, and how their gendered and socio-economic identity-based experiences inform these definitions. Using a qualitative approach, we interviewed 36 UK university students to better understand (1) students’ definitions of belonging to university, and (2) how these conceptualizations are shaped by their experiences in terms of their gender, their socioeconomic status, and the intersection of these two identities. Interviews showed that students defined belonging in terms of social belonging. These definitions were shaped by their (a) cultural capital about university, (b) socioeconomic or gender identity experiences and (c) perceived similarity with other students. Indeed, despite the fact that students’ definitions of belonging were associated with how they have experienced belonging to university, identity-based experiences were mostly mentioned when they perceived they did not belong, which was framed as a “sense of anti-belonging”. Otherwise, students defined belonging as (a) being authentic, considering—for example—gender identity-based experiences of acceptance in university, or (b) sharing similar experiences with others, considering the importance of perceiving similarity with other students to feel they belong and, in some cases, being necessary to learn about university culture to perceive similarity with others. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in terms of how belonging conceptualisations are bound up in identity and context, opening questions about the consequences of inclusion and diversity policies in higher education.

AbstractAccess to Higher Education (HE) is based on the idea that all students should have the same opportunities, and that merit and hard work, regardless of students’ backgrounds, will lead to success. However, inequalities remain despite efforts to provide equal access to HE, raising questions about the validity of such a meritocratic approach. Using qualitative analysis, we interviewed UK university students to understand students’ perceptions of meritocracy in HE, and if and how students associated these perceptions with their gender and subjective socioeconomic status identity experiences. Students’ perceptions could be described in two main ideas: (a) the perceived commitment of their universities to meritocracy, and (b) their endorsement and rejection of meritocracy as an identity enhancement strategy. Hence, both support and lack of support for meritocracy are strategies used by disadvantaged groups to navigate and cope with the lack of opportunities and socioeconomic disadvantages in HE.

Resumo O objetivo desta pesquisa é compreender as contribuições do conceito Contra-Édipo Parental na clínica com adolescentes. Uma revisão bibliográfica sobre o conceito é realizada para que, posteriormente, se discutam suas dimensões clínicas na adolescência. Propõe-se que a integração e a análise desse conceito possam contribuir no trabalho clínico com adolescentes e seus pais, problematizando suas noções de responsabilidade no processo adolescente, para avançar a uma visão abrangente e analítica que integre os elementos subjetivos e históricos dos pais como uma dimensão relevante da psicoterapia com adolescentes.

Mediante una viñeta clínica se propone analizar cómo se lleva a cabo, durante la adolescencia, un proceso de identificación y transmisión de la función parental en la relación entre el adolescente y sus padres, que podría permitir pensar los avatares de los procesos de transición hacia la adultez. Se discute acerca de cómo la inclusión de estos procesos, en la clínica con adolescentes, podría enriquecer los análisis con perspectivas históricas e intersubjetivas que posibilitarían la reflexión sobre el rol de los padres en la clínica con adolescentes, el duelo respecto a la propia adolescencia y las problemáticas actuales en la transición hacia la adultez en adolescentes.

Esta investigación comprende un estudio de caso único, por lo tanto, no pretende dar una explicación generalizable. Sin embargo, contribuye como caso ejemplar que puede evocar en el lector otros casos clínicos con similitudes y, al mismo tiempo, ilustrar desarrollos teóricos difundidos. La presente investigación, supone la existencia de una relación entre las problemáticas en la separación y la experiencia de lo transicional en la díada y contribuye a la comprensión de esta relación desde la teoría de los fenómenos transicionales de Winnicott.

La menarquia, si bien se describe como relevante dentro dela subjetividad de las mujeres, no ha tenido la suficiente relevanciadentro de las investigaciones y desarrollos del tema en la actualidad. Esta investigación busca describir y analizar el funcionamiento de los tabúes que operan en la vivencia de la menarquia de una selección decasos de jóvenes chilenas, dentro de un intervalo cercano y posterior a su ocurrencia. Se utiliza la metodología cualitativa del análisis de casos y como instrumento de recopilación de información la entrevista semiestructurada. A partir de lo investigado, se expone que el tabú opera en distintas dimensiones para las jóvenes: la familia, su cuerpo y los vínculos construidos con el otro diferente.