Issues promoting and hindering girls' well-being in Northern Finland

Contextualized perspectives of well-being for adolescent girls: a qualitative metasynthesis

Purpose: This metasynthesis reviews and synthesizes the existing qualitative research on adolescent well-being, with explicit attention to how context shapes girls' well-being. Well-being can be understood as a product of transactions between the individual and their context. Using qualitative research, this metasynthesis shows that girls face several threats to their well-being, often related to gender interwoven with the context in which girls operate.Methods: A Qualitative Metasynthesis was used. It included 10 qualitative studies.Results: Findings of this metasynthesis explain that context plays a relevant role in girls' access to resources and opportunities within families and communities. They show that context defines expectations on how girls should behave and spend their time, which often become stressors for girls. Girls examine their context and use it to set up ideals and compare themselves to others. These comparisons impact girls' self-image and structure aspects of their social life.Conclusions: Context and gender affect girls' well-being at different levels. Therefore, interventions and public policies should study the key factors girls identified as influencing their well-being, and address them using a multilevel rationale. Qualitative research can offer complex and illustrative insights on girls' well-being, exploring their perspectives and experiences, and shedding light on how interlocking systems of oppression affect their well-being.

Enhancing Adolescent Girls' Well-Being in the Arctic-Finding What Motivates Spending Time in Nature

Background: According to previous studies, the natural environment positively influences well-being, including that of adolescent girls. However, knowledge is lacking on what motivates adolescent girls to spend time in nature. A secondary analysis of qualitative data was conducted employing three preexisting sets of interview data that had formed the basis of previously published research reports. A novel perspective on what motivates adolescent girls in the Arctic to spend time in nature was uncovered—a finding that previous articles have not reported. Aim: The aim was to describe what motivates adolescent girls in the Arctic to spend time in nature. Methods: The participants were adolescent girls aged 13 to 16 living in the province of Finnish Lapland. The girls wrote about well-being (n = 117) and were interviewed (n = 19) about the meaning of seasonal changes, nature and animals’ influence on well-being. Also, five focus group interviews (n = 17) were held. The materials were analyzed by inductive content analysis. Results: After the secondary analysis, three generic categories were found: (1) wanting to have pleasant emotions, (2) the possibility of participating in activities and (3) a desire to feel better. The main category of “need to experience positive sensations” was formed. Conclusion: Based on these results, through personalized guidance and advice, it is possible to strengthen adolescent girls’ willingness to spend time in nature.