Erika Wall

Young people making sense of risk How meanings of risk are materialized within the social context of everyday life

By using the term ‘sensemaking’ our intention is to deepen the understanding of young people and risk. Four focus group interviews with young people were made in 2004/05, two in an urban area (Greater Stockholm) and two in a rural area (the county of Jämtland). Three reference interviews with adults were also made (two in Greater Stockholm and one in Jämtland). The results indicate that sensemaking of risk is a fruitful way of capturing hidden heterogeneity regarding how young people with similar risk perceptions give risk meaning. Based on the empirical results, that is, depending on where young people live they make sense of risk differently, a two–dimensional theoretical model for sensemaking of risk is proposed; individualism–collectivism, and local attachment–local detachment.

Sense-making of risk and role-taking emotions : How young Swedes construe road traffic risk.

The aim of this study is to improve our understanding of how young people make sense of traffic risk. The study also aims to contribute to current theory by refining the concept of ‘sense-making of risk’. The focus is to explore, empirically as well as theoretically, how role-taking emotions can contribute to this particular area of research. In order to chart both the sense-making of social interaction and the respondents’ subjective sense of traffic risk, the present study used both in-depth interviews and focus group interviews: the in-depth interviews comprised a total of 11 interviews with as many interviewees, while a total of 36 people were included in the eight focus group interviews. All interviewees were Swedish residents aged between 16 and 20. It is found that by adopting the perspective afforded by theory of emotion, it is possible to deepen our knowledge of individual sense-making of risk. Both primary emotions and role-taking emotions seem to be central to how young Swedes form their understanding of traffic risk. A focus on role-taking emotions reveals the value of indirect social interaction for the individual’s sense-making of risk in general, and adds to our knowledge of the individual’s sense-making of traffic risk in particular.

Traffic safety behaviour among young people in different residential settings: the use of seat belts, bicycle helmets, and reflectors by young people in Sweden.

This study examines if, and how, the size of the community in which people live may contribute to explaining differences in traffic safety behaviour (self-reported behaviour regarding the use of seat belts, bicycle helmets and reflectors) among young people in Sweden. The study is based on a Swedish nationwide traffic safety survey with a net sample of 2854 respondents aged 16–25. Ordered logit regressions were performed, and place of residence is shown to have an impact on traffic safety behaviour. The results are presented and discussed in relation to risk exposure and traffic safety facilities in different settings. The implications of the study are considered, and the importance of investigating the way in which young people see traffic safety behaviour is emphasised.

Visualizing risk: using participatory photography to explore individuals’ sense-making of risk

Although the field of risk research is increasingly alert to new theoretical and empirical perspectives, it is still the case that few studies take a visual approach, despite its obvious worth in capturing people’s experiences of everyday life. This paper considers how a visual approach can be used to deepen our knowledge of sense-making of risk, particularly young people’s views on risk. It presents empirical findings from a study that uses participatory photography to capture what individuals define as serious risks in everyday life and how these risks are expressed (722 participants in Sweden, aged 5–33, mostly children or adolescents). The conclusion is that focusing on stories embedded in images independently contributes new knowledge about how the individual makes sense of risk in everyday life, and especially that visual methods of data collection and analysis illuminate how individual sense-making of risk is intertwined with other aspects of meaning-making in everyday life. In other words, it is time for a visual turn in risk research.

Managers’ and employees’ views of critical aspects for alcohol abuse prevention at small and medium enterprises – the case of ski resorts in Northern Sweden

ABSTRACT Seasonal workers at tourism resorts, particularly young employees, represent a high-risk population for alcohol abuse and other negative lifestyles. This study explores how managers and employees at ski resorts in Northern Sweden experience critical aspects for hazardous alcohol use at small- and medium-sized enterprises. This analysis is based on one open-ended question about hazardous alcohol use prevention at the workplace answered by 153 employees, and semi-structured interviews about being a manager at a ski resort conducted with 13 managers. The analysis showed that managers’ views regarding hazardous alcohol use prevention were double-edged, which was confirmed by the employees’ answers. The managers contribute to the preservation of existing alcohol norms but simultaneously enforce policies and administer tests to control employees’ sobriety at work. Three themes emerged: reproducing existing alcohol norms, an alcohol-controlled working environment and care-taking managers. The results identified a need for early prevention initiatives focusing on the norms and work cultures of small- and medium-sized ski resorts. In relation to the theory of planned behaviour, the analysis illuminates how evaluations of behaviours related to alcohol consumption are communicated in policies and through leadership. In addition, the importance of social pressure regarding alcohol use is clarified in the material.