Today’s young people are facing increasing levels of uncertainty. Faced with volatile job and housing markets, they must also contend with a future that will likely be heavily impacted by the climate crisis. Data also reveals a sharp decline in their mental health. Encouraging them to develop resilience is often touted as key.

Resilience is generally defined as the ability to overcome adversity, which tends to mean conforming to social norms—staying in school, holding down a job, persevering no matter what. It is viewed as an individual virtue, emphasizing personal responsibility and self-reliance.

But this conventional interpretation of resilience may miss more subtle coping and survival strategies. It does not consider alternatives such as resistance, disengagement, or inaction .

By redefining resilience to include these different forms of adaptation, as well as the support provided by those around us, we can put in place a more pragmatic approach to managing uncertainty.

Discreet forms of resistance

In research conducted with colleagues , I explored this unconventional side of resilience. This work is based on interviews with 92 young people from four European countries and on focus group discussions. It is part of a larger European study of disadvantaged young people in ten countries.

To understand these young people’s experiences, we spent time with them in their own communities – youth centers, protest groups, online communities…

We held individual interviews in which young people shared their personal experiences, thoughts, and challenges. We also worked with them creatively, often in workshops or group discussions, so that they could contribute to the development of the research.

Through this work, we discovered that some of their actions, which might normally have been considered failures, turned out to be hidden forms of resistance and adaptation. They invite us to consider the notion of resilience in a broader and more nuanced way.

Take Liam , a 15-year-old British boy in care serving a community sentence. For him, school was a toxic environment full of conflict and pressure from peers and teachers. Even though he wanted to earn qualifications and saw it as a source of pride, Liam decided to stop going to class.

By leaving his school, Liam reduced the risk of being drawn to problematic peer groups and drifting into criminal behavior. While some might view leaving school as abandonment, from Liam’s perspective, it was a way to protect himself.

Samantha, 24, was neglected by her parents and lacked support from social workers. She often felt unheard and unfairly judged by those in positions of authority, such as social workers and educators.

Instead of contradicting them, which risked causing her a great deal of upset and conflict, Samantha would discreetly withdraw from conversations, by physically leaving the room, redirecting the discussion to a neutral topic, or simply disengaging emotionally and remaining silent.

What might have seemed like abandonment was, for her, a form of resilience that protected her from further harm in the face of a system that had failed her repeatedly.

Learning to navigate uncertainty

Promoting resilience among young people is intended to help them better manage their lives in an uncertain world. But they often face challenges they cannot overcome on their own.

This may include unequal and limited access to quality education or stable employment opportunities. In some cases, they live in poverty and in precarious housing, and they may also face discrimination in training, welfare access, or the criminal justice system. In other cases, they lack the necessary mental health support or experience difficulties upon leaving care, for example, by not having been adequately prepared for independent living.

This is often compounded by limited access to support networks—spaces or programs for disadvantaged youth—a lack of mentoring or career guidance in schools, and limited access to affordable extracurricular activities such as housing assistance or scholarships. Taking it upon yourself is not enough to address these challenges.

Encouraging resilience can therefore come down to creating environments that allow people to safely explore options on the most realistic and sustainable way possible to manage challenges , make mistakes and learn to adapt without fear of being judged.

At 16, Paco, originally from Spain, joined a self-managed club where young people decide which leaders they employ, what activities are offered, and how to get involved in the neighborhood. The goal was to support those like him who weren’t studying or working.

Rather than dictating what to do, setting rigid goals, or simply telling him what to do, the staff and his peers listened to his thoughts and ideas. Unlike other places where he felt judged, this place gave him the opportunity to explore avenues without fear of harsh criticism.

This approach focused on building trust, allowing Paco to make gradual changes at his own pace. Paco was encouraged to return to his studies, which he did enthusiastically, and he showed confidence in his ability to regain control of his life.

This more flexible conception of resilience, which allows room for what might look like failure or help from others, challenges the conception of resilience advocated in neoliberal thought, which is centered on individual responsibility and self-sufficiency.

Instead of expecting young people to “bounce back” and thrive in the face of adversity, we should help them explore sustainable and adaptive responses to life’s challenges.

To empower them to navigate a harsh and uncertain world, we must recognize the value of these unconventional forms of resilience . Rather, resilience should be viewed as a process developed in response to structural inequalities, rather than a uniform ideal rooted in individual effort.

Author Bio: Claire Fox is Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Manchester