Agency and resilience among young persons in Sweden: Patterns of interrelated resources within the WHO Adolescent Well-being Framework
- 1Faculty of Health Sciences, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden.
- 2Department for Research, Development and Education, Management for Psychiatry and Habilitation, Region Skåne, Lund, Sweden.
Abstract
The WHO Adolescent Well-being Framework identifies agency and resilience as a central domain of adolescent well-being, yet its expression from a health promotion perspective remains insufficiently understood. Although previous research has often focused on specific behaviours or isolated factors, less attention has been given to how interconnected personal and relational resources coexist as patterns reflecting the WHO domain of agency and resilience. This study explored such patterns among young Swedish persons aged 15–18 years and examined gender differences across these patterns. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 419 students in Swedish upper secondary schools. Agency and resilience were operationalised through measures of salutogenic health, positive youth development (PYD), playfulness, goal orientation, and physical activity. A person-oriented cluster analysis was used to identify patterns of interconnected resources, and gender differences between patterns. Three distinct resource patterns were identified: a low-resource group (26%), a high-resource group (28%), and an asymmetric-resource group (47%), characterised by relatively favourable intrapersonal resources alongside lower relational PYD resources. Girls were significantly overrepresented in both the low-resource and asymmetric-resource groups. Together, these findings suggest that young persons with seemingly favourable individual resources may nevertheless exhibit underlying vulnerabilities when resources are considered as interconnected patterns rather than isolated characteristics. This perspective contributes to the empirical understanding of the WHO domain of agency and resilience and may inform person-centred, relational approaches to promoting young persons’ well-being.
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BibTeX
@article{bergman2026agency,
title = {{Agency and resilience among young persons in Sweden: Patterns of interrelated resources within the WHO Adolescent Well-being Framework}},
author = {Johanna Bergman and Albert Westergren and Åsa Bringsén and Petra Nilsson Lindström and Maria Haak},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0360518},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360518},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Agency and resilience among young persons in Sweden: Patterns of interrelated resources within the WHO Adolescent Well-being Framework
AU - Johanna Bergman
AU - Albert Westergren
AU - Åsa Bringsén
AU - Petra Nilsson Lindström
AU - Maria Haak
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0360518
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360518
AB - The WHO Adolescent Well-being Framework identifies agency and resilience as a central domain of adolescent well-being, yet its expression from a health promotion perspective remains insufficiently understood. Although previous research has often focused on specific behaviours or isolated factors, less attention has been given to how interconnected personal and relational resources coexist as patterns reflecting the WHO domain of agency and resilience. This study explored such patterns among young Swedish persons aged 15–18 years and examined gender differences across these patterns. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 419 students in Swedish upper secondary schools. Agency and resilience were operationalised through measures of salutogenic health, positive youth development (PYD), playfulness, goal orientation, and physical activity. A person-oriented cluster analysis was used to identify patterns of interconnected resources, and gender differences between patterns. Three distinct resource patterns were identified: a low-resource group (26%), a high-resource group (28%), and an asymmetric-resource group (47%), characterised by relatively favourable intrapersonal resources alongside lower relational PYD resources. Girls were significantly overrepresented in both the low-resource and asymmetric-resource groups. Together, these findings suggest that young persons with seemingly favourable individual resources may nevertheless exhibit underlying vulnerabilities when resources are considered as interconnected patterns rather than isolated characteristics. This perspective contributes to the empirical understanding of the WHO domain of agency and resilience and may inform person-centred, relational approaches to promoting young persons’ well-being.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -