The role of multisystemic resilience in fostering critical agency: UK adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Weidman, Sarah; Levine, Diane T.; Louwagie, Fransiska; Blackmore, Kara; Theron, Linda C.; Stekel, Dov J.

Abstract

Critical agency (CA) refers to an individual’s feeling of power in relation to social inequalities. Research has demonstrated that high CA is associated with positive adolescent outcomes, however, less is known about what supports are important for its development. Moreover, a large majority of the literature is based on studies from the US and various countries in Africa; although the UK is saturated with inequalities there is little research within a UK context. In this paper we examine (a) the validity of using an existing measure of CA with a sample of UK adolescents and (b) the extent to which resilience supports account for variance in CA. Our analysis identified two distinct factors of CA: justice-oriented and community-oriented. High CA in both factors was explained by resilience supports associated with peer relationships (p < 0.01). Our findings push us towards new relational, ecological ways of understanding adolescent CA. We close by instantiating a translational framework for those devising policies in support of youth resilience and CA.

Citation

Weidman, S., Levine, D. T., Louwagie, F., Blackmore, K., Theron, L. C., & Stekel, D. J. (2024). The role of multisystemic resilience in fostering critical agency: UK adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Current Psychology, 43, 16833-16847. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04578-1

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 17, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Apr 4, 2023
• Publication Date: 2024
• Deposit Date: Apr 17, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 20, 2023
• Journal: Current Psychology
• Print ISSN: 1046-1310
• Electronic ISSN: 1936-4733
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 43
• Pages: 16833-16847
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04578-1
• Keywords: Adolescents · Critical Agency · Critical Consciousness · Resilience · Covid-19
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/19295600
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-023-04578-1