Abstract
ABSTRACTPurpose: The aim of this study was to explore how young people in Sweden who neither work nor study perceive life experiences in relation to health and well-being.Methods: A task-based interview technique was used and data was analysed with qualitative content analysis. Interviews were conducted with 16 participants aged 16-20 who were unemployed and not eligible for upper secondary school, or who had dropped out of school.Results: Three themes emerged from the analysis illustrating how the young people perceive their life experiences in relation to health and well-being: Struggling with hardships in the absence of caring connections, Feeling good when closely connected to others, and Being forced to question what has been taken for granted. Each theme consists of 2-3 subthemes.Conclusion: Based on the young people's narrated experiences health can be understood as: something that is created in relation to others and in relation to the social and cultural context; as something dynamic and changeable; as the ability to adapt and respond to challenges; and finally as something existing on a collective as well as an individual level. Implications for school, social services and health promotion initiatives are discussed, with an emphasis on working with young people.
Highlights
This article focuses on health experiences of young people in Sweden who neither work nor study
The theme feeling good when closely connected to others communicates the importance of social relationships and network for the young people’s experiences of health
The findings consisted of three themes: struggling with hardships in the absence of caring connections, feeling good when closely connected to others, and being forced to question what has been taken for granted
Summary
This article focuses on health experiences of young people in Sweden who neither work nor study. Health in Swedish youth has become increasingly unequal (Public Health Agency of Sweden, 2013), and Povlsen, Borup, and Fosse (2011) stress the need for a stronger focus on health equity within health promotion in the Nordic context. This is in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) who lists health equity as one of the goals of health promotion (WHO, 1986). Even if the conditions for health among children and adolescents have improved over time, the difference between groups has increased (Public Health Agency of Sweden, 2013). Over the past 10 years, approximately 17,000 young people in Sweden between 16 and 19 years of age have neither been in school nor had employment (SOU, 2013)
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