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.