Vulnerable youth, dialogic exchanges and resilience: Some preliminary findings from an exploratory study in East London

Abstract

There has been little exploration in the literature of the dialogic exchanges among marginalized youth, including the kinds of associations they may have, if any, with resilience. Based on preliminary findings from an ethnographic study in East London, we explore some of the dialogic exchanges about resilience among ethnically diverse groups of vulnerable youth to suggest alternative ways in which it can be contextualized. Youth narratives are used as an analytical tool to unravel the ambiguities of the terms resilience and adversity and to illustrate ways in which the respondents' association and understanding of resilience and adversity can contextualize more effectively the covert processes they undergo as they navigate through personal and cultural adversities. What is their association with the concept of resilience? Do these connections (if any) influence the ways they contextualize and face their daily adversities? How and where can the voices of vulnerable youth be positioned in the health resilience literature?