Individualismens lömska fägring- en kvalitativ studie av ungdomars olika hantering av individualismens villkor ur ett professionellt perspektiv

Sammanfattning: Abstract Author: Elin Jonasson Title: The individualizations insidious beauty – a qualitative study of adolescent’s different ways to handle the individualization from a professional perspective (Translated title) Supervisor: Lina Ponnert Assessor: Anders Östnäs This paper aims to highlight the professionals' perspective of adolescent mental health in relation to individualism.The study is based on interviews with professional social workers that work with mental-illness concerning adolescents. Six professional social workers were interviewed and they worked in different municipalities in southern Sweden and one of them in northern Småland. In the analysis it appeared that the professionals thought that the main cause of mental-illness concerning adolescents was the great supply of options that an individualized society creates. It also appeared that the professional social workers tend to normalize the mental-illness that adolescents suffer from. According to the interviewed professionals it lastly appeared a difference between girls and boys ways to handle the individualization. The most successful way to maintain a good mental health according to the professional social workers, that were interviewed, seems to be about keeping a good balance and have the capacity to handle both success and adversity. Key words: individualization, mental-illness, adolescents, normalization, option and balance.