Crisis as Opportunity, Risk, or Turmoil: Qualitative Study of Youth Narratives About the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors
Nikitović, Tijana
Vuletić, Teodora

Ignjatović, Natalija

Grujić, Kristina
Ninković, Milica G.
Krnjaić, Zora

Krstić, Ksenija

Article (Submitted Version)
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Purpose
The present study employed a narrative approach in order to explore how young people constructed meanings regarding their sense of self in the context of COVID-19 experiences. Adolescents have been identified as a particularly vulnerable group, as the developmental challenges they face are superimposed and amplified by the accidental crisis caused by the pandemic.
Methods
An in-depth narrative analysis was conducted on written accounts of 13 females aged 17–23 years from Serbia. We selected these narratives from a larger sample of 70 responses (M = 20.1; SD = 2.9; 85.7% female) collected via an online form. We used reflexive thematic analysis as a tool for the selection process of the narratives subjected to in-depth narrative analysis.
Results
Young people told stories that differ significantly in coherence, affective tone, personal agency, and depth of self-exploration. Narrative analysis of the selected accounts identified three distinct types of stories: (1) crisis as ...an opportunity for personal growth, (2) crisis as a risk for the sense of self, and (3) crisis as inner turmoil.
Discussion
Narrative analysis enabled us to recognize three distinct processes of youth meaning-making related to the sense of self in times of crisis, all reflecting a significant impact on their core developmental task. Personal narratives served different functions; for some, the pandemic was framed as a challenge one could grow from, while others were left devastated or overwhelmed. Narrative coherence reflected youths' capacities for integrating experiences not necessarily connected to their psychological well-being.
Implications and Contribution
The insights from this study may be helpful to those offering support to youth by helping them understand the roles self-narratives play in shaping young people's sense of self in times of crisis. Narratives can be of great value for mitigating the adverse effects of the superimposed crisis during adolescence.
Keywords:
adolescence / covid-19 / crisis / narrative / pandemic / qualitative research / youthSource:
Journal of Adolescent Health, 2023Funding / projects:
- Ministarstvo prosvete, nauke i tehnološkog razvoja Republike Srbije u sklopu finansiranja naučnoistraživačkog rada na Univerzitetu u Beogradu – Filozofskom fakultetu (broj ugovora 451-03–68/2022–14/ 200163)
- Čovek i društvo u vreme krize Filozofskog fakulteta Univerziteta u Beogradu
Institution/Community
Psihologija / PsychologyTY - JOUR AU - Nikitović, Tijana AU - Vuletić, Teodora AU - Ignjatović, Natalija AU - Grujić, Kristina AU - Ninković, Milica G. AU - Krnjaić, Zora AU - Krstić, Ksenija PY - 2023 UR - http://reff.f.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/4586 AB - Purpose The present study employed a narrative approach in order to explore how young people constructed meanings regarding their sense of self in the context of COVID-19 experiences. Adolescents have been identified as a particularly vulnerable group, as the developmental challenges they face are superimposed and amplified by the accidental crisis caused by the pandemic. Methods An in-depth narrative analysis was conducted on written accounts of 13 females aged 17–23 years from Serbia. We selected these narratives from a larger sample of 70 responses (M = 20.1; SD = 2.9; 85.7% female) collected via an online form. We used reflexive thematic analysis as a tool for the selection process of the narratives subjected to in-depth narrative analysis. Results Young people told stories that differ significantly in coherence, affective tone, personal agency, and depth of self-exploration. Narrative analysis of the selected accounts identified three distinct types of stories: (1) crisis as an opportunity for personal growth, (2) crisis as a risk for the sense of self, and (3) crisis as inner turmoil. Discussion Narrative analysis enabled us to recognize three distinct processes of youth meaning-making related to the sense of self in times of crisis, all reflecting a significant impact on their core developmental task. Personal narratives served different functions; for some, the pandemic was framed as a challenge one could grow from, while others were left devastated or overwhelmed. Narrative coherence reflected youths' capacities for integrating experiences not necessarily connected to their psychological well-being. Implications and Contribution The insights from this study may be helpful to those offering support to youth by helping them understand the roles self-narratives play in shaping young people's sense of self in times of crisis. Narratives can be of great value for mitigating the adverse effects of the superimposed crisis during adolescence. T2 - Journal of Adolescent Health T1 - Crisis as Opportunity, Risk, or Turmoil: Qualitative Study of Youth Narratives About the COVID-19 Pandemic DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.05.017 ER -
@article{ author = "Nikitović, Tijana and Vuletić, Teodora and Ignjatović, Natalija and Grujić, Kristina and Ninković, Milica G. and Krnjaić, Zora and Krstić, Ksenija", year = "2023", abstract = "Purpose The present study employed a narrative approach in order to explore how young people constructed meanings regarding their sense of self in the context of COVID-19 experiences. Adolescents have been identified as a particularly vulnerable group, as the developmental challenges they face are superimposed and amplified by the accidental crisis caused by the pandemic. Methods An in-depth narrative analysis was conducted on written accounts of 13 females aged 17–23 years from Serbia. We selected these narratives from a larger sample of 70 responses (M = 20.1; SD = 2.9; 85.7% female) collected via an online form. We used reflexive thematic analysis as a tool for the selection process of the narratives subjected to in-depth narrative analysis. Results Young people told stories that differ significantly in coherence, affective tone, personal agency, and depth of self-exploration. Narrative analysis of the selected accounts identified three distinct types of stories: (1) crisis as an opportunity for personal growth, (2) crisis as a risk for the sense of self, and (3) crisis as inner turmoil. Discussion Narrative analysis enabled us to recognize three distinct processes of youth meaning-making related to the sense of self in times of crisis, all reflecting a significant impact on their core developmental task. Personal narratives served different functions; for some, the pandemic was framed as a challenge one could grow from, while others were left devastated or overwhelmed. Narrative coherence reflected youths' capacities for integrating experiences not necessarily connected to their psychological well-being. Implications and Contribution The insights from this study may be helpful to those offering support to youth by helping them understand the roles self-narratives play in shaping young people's sense of self in times of crisis. Narratives can be of great value for mitigating the adverse effects of the superimposed crisis during adolescence.", journal = "Journal of Adolescent Health", title = "Crisis as Opportunity, Risk, or Turmoil: Qualitative Study of Youth Narratives About the COVID-19 Pandemic", doi = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.05.017" }
Nikitović, T., Vuletić, T., Ignjatović, N., Grujić, K., Ninković, M. G., Krnjaić, Z.,& Krstić, K.. (2023). Crisis as Opportunity, Risk, or Turmoil: Qualitative Study of Youth Narratives About the COVID-19 Pandemic. in Journal of Adolescent Health. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.05.017
Nikitović T, Vuletić T, Ignjatović N, Grujić K, Ninković MG, Krnjaić Z, Krstić K. Crisis as Opportunity, Risk, or Turmoil: Qualitative Study of Youth Narratives About the COVID-19 Pandemic. in Journal of Adolescent Health. 2023;. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.05.017 .
Nikitović, Tijana, Vuletić, Teodora, Ignjatović, Natalija, Grujić, Kristina, Ninković, Milica G., Krnjaić, Zora, Krstić, Ksenija, "Crisis as Opportunity, Risk, or Turmoil: Qualitative Study of Youth Narratives About the COVID-19 Pandemic" in Journal of Adolescent Health (2023), https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.05.017 . .