Resilience doesn’t always mean perseverance.

Young people today face an increasing level of uncertainty. They navigate the unstable jobs and housing markets and are fighting for a future that is likely to become significantly more pronounced by the climate crisis. Evidence also shows that this generation is experiencing a rapid deterioration in mental health. Development of resilience is often welcomed as a solution.

Resilience is usually surrounded to overcome adversity, which tends to mean conforming to social norms. Stay at school, keep your work down and endure no matter what. It is an individual virtue, with a focus on personal responsibility and independence.

However, this traditional understanding of what it means to be resilient, and what we see when asking young people to increase their resilience, may overlook the hidden ways they can adapt and survive. Dismiss alternative responses such as resistance, withdrawal, or inaction.

By redefineing resilience to include the importance of various adaptation methods and support from others, we can create more practical approaches to dealing with uncertainty.

My research with colleagues explored the unconventional aspects of resilience. This is based on interviews with 92 young people from four European countries and further focus group discussions. It was part of a large European study of youth facing disadvantages in 10 countries.

To understand the experiences of these young people, we spent time with them in our own space. These included youth centres, protest groups and online communities.

We held a one-on-one conversation in which young people shared their personal experiences, thoughts and struggles. And they helped shape the research because they worked with them in creative ways, often during workshops and group discussions.

Through this work, we have found that we can actually hide the behaviors of young people that are usually dismissed as failure. They reveal a wider, more subtle version of resilience.

He brings Liam, 15, from England, who was in care and served a community sentence. For Liam, the school was a toxic environment full of conflict and pressure from his peers and teachers. He was keen to achieve some academic qualifications and saw it as a source of pride, but Liam decided to stop attending.

By leaving school, Liam reduced the risk of being drawn into troubled peer groups and criminal activities. Some may see him as giving away from school, but from Liam’s perspective it was a way to protect himself.

Samantha, 24, had experienced neglect from her parents and lack of support from her social workers. She was often unfairly judged and unfairly judged by authorities such as her social workers and educators.

Instead of disputing what they said, it could cause her a lot of upset and conflict, Samantha quietly eliminated herself from those conversations. This includes physically leaving the room, redirecting discussions to neutral topics, or emotionally releasing them simply by staying silent.

What might seem to give up was a form of resilience for her that protected her from further harm, in the face of a system that repeatedly disappointed her.

Learn to navigate uncertainty

The idea of ​​promoting resilience among young people is to enable them to cope with life in an uncertain world. However, young people often face problems that cannot be overcome through their own efforts.

These include inequality-limited access to quality education and stable employment opportunities. They may live in poverty and unstable housing and experience discrimination within the educational environment, social care, or the criminal justice system. They may face the challenge of leaving their care system, such as inadequate mental health support or inadequate preparation for an independent living.

This often limits access to supportive resources such as lack of youth-friendly spaces and programs in underfunded communities. There may be inadequate availability of mentorship and guidance in schools, and there are limited routes to limiting access to affordable extracurricular activities and ensuring housing and financial aid for young people who cease care. Navigating these challenges cannot be addressed by personal efforts alone.

Therefore, supporting resilience means creating an environment where you can safely explore options on how to handle your challenges in a realistic and sustainable way.

Paco, a 16-year-old from Spain, found herself in a self-managed youth club that determines the youth workers they employ, the activities offered, and how they interact with the neighborhood. It was intended to help people, like Paco, who were not studying or working.

The staff and his teammates not only told him what to do, but also listened to his thoughts and ideas. Unlike other places he felt vetted, this place gave him the opportunity to explore his ideas without fear of excessively harsh criticism.

Rather than highlighting what he should do or strict goals, those involved in the program actively listened to Paco’s thoughts and ideas, creating a space he felt truly heard.

This approach focused on building trust and allowed for progressive changes to Paco at his own pace. Paco was confident in getting back to what he felt was more enthusiastic about, supporting him and getting his life back on track.

Given this more flexible way of resilience, it could enable what appears to be a failure or accept help from the community. This is a philosophy that advocates individual responsibility and independence, often linked to economic productivity.

Instead of simply hoping young people to “booke” and thrive in times of adversity, we need to support them in exploring sustainable and adaptive responses to life’s challenges.

To equip young people to navigate an uncertain and challenging world, we need to recognize the value of unconventional forms of resilience. It should be understood as a process that often arises in response to structural inequality rather than all ideals rooted in suitability and individual effort.

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