Paper short abstract:

The presentation will highlight themes from interviews conducted with adolescents 14-17 from the capital area of Reykjavik by bringing insights into the views and experiences expressed during times an invisible threat, along with narratives of coping, and means of which they exercised their agency.

Paper long abstract:

Adolescence is an important time where our personalities grow and our sense of self becomes more established. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the government interventions have impacted children and young people’s daily routines, such as with closing of schools, limiting activities of after-school programmes, sporting events, and other types of social gatherings. Due to this, adolescents have been obliged to adjust to a new reality whilst negotiating important elements such as peer-relationships, their own individuality, and personhood. This presentation is a part of a larger PhD project which aims to give insight into the experiences of adolescents in Iceland by using mixed methods; participatory research, interviews, and analysis of survey data. It is the hope of the project that voices and experiences of children and youth will be taken into account in future government policy-making against global health threats. The presentation will report on highlights from interviews conducted with adolescents 14-17 from the capital area of Reykjavik by bringing insights into the views and experiences expressed during times an invisible threat, along with narratives of coping, and means of which they exercised their agency.