Young women facing multiple and intersecting stressors of modernity, gender orders and youth

Abstract

This article aims to explore stressors experienced by Swedish adolescent girls and young women, specifically understood in relation to social context and gender theory. Interviews were conducted with 40 young Swedish women, aged 16-25 years, who had sought help at a youth health centre for stress problems. Using qualitative content analysis we identified three clusters of stressors: "the stressors of modernity", "the stressors of gendered orders", and "the stressors of youth". The results revealed that multiple and intersecting discourse-shaped stressors and demands connected to essential life spheres contribute not only to experiences of distress but also to feelings of constraint. Gendered individualism and healthism proved to be essential in understanding the young women's experienced stress. Failing social support from adults, gendered demands and responsibility taking were also illuminated. This calls for a broad contextualized and gender-sensitive approach to young women's stress and health problems.