“Being Open About Struggle”: Youth Practices and Perspectives on Resilience

Abstract

Youth create resilience in a landscape of interpersonal, environmental, and political factors by navigating personal and community stressors. The goal of this study was to explore how youth conceptualize resilience and overcome stressors within their everyday life experiences. Using a national text message survey, 894 youth (ages 14–24 years) were asked five open-ended questions about their life experiences relating to stressors and their abilities to express resilience. Four themes were identified through qualitative, thematic analysis: (1) relationships are key to resilience; (2) perspective is everything; (3) resources can help build and maintain resilience; and (4) resilience is difficult to practice when you feel out of control. The timing of this study during the COVID-19 pandemic offers a focused insight into the meaning-making of resilience among youth that highlights structural and interpersonal characteristics. These definitions of resilience can inform future research and resource provision for youth.