"Where I want to be": Exploring salutogenic discourse in disadvantaged young women's talk.

Background/Objectives

The purpose of the paper is to explore disadvantaged young women’s talk about their experiences of trauma, struggle, structural disadvantage and behavourial risk using a salutogenic lens. Such young women are typically labelled in neoliberal policy and practice as being ‘vulnerable’ however, they often resist this label in their talk about their experiences drawing on what Antonovsky describes as a ‘Sense of Coherence’. In doing so the young women develop comprehensibility, meaningfulness and manageability and exhibiting agency and resilience. Gendered interventions provide the means to empower disadvantaged young women and it is through evaluations of such interventions that we can better understand their experiences.

Methods

This paper draws on evidence from several evaluations of gendered interventions designed to support ‘vulnerable’ young women. The evaluations used a range of participatory methods using multiple creative means to explore disadvantaged young women’s lived experiences. Such methods, for example, include the use of storyboards. Data from the evaluations were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results

Data across several evaluations reveal themes of comprehensibility, meaningfulness and manageability in the young women’s talk. Resilience and agency are also evident.

Discussion

Contrary to the singular portrayal in public health policy of disadvantaged young women as ‘vulnerable’, the data from the evaluations show that they construct themselves and their experiences in more agentic, salutogenic ways. This evidence shows that appropriately designed gendered interventions can have a positive impact on such young women and promoting empowering ways of being, enabling the attainment of improved health and wellbeing.