Overview

In this book, Professor Ole Jacob Madsen analyses the implications of Scandinavia's current concern for the mental health problems of adolescents, said to be struggling in the face of increasing demands for achievement and success. It critically examines our understanding of this so-called “achievement generation”, questioning whether today’s youth are really worse off than previous generations and how we have come to believe that this is so. The author’s wide-ranging investigation draws on a large body of research, as well as considering socio-political, historical and regional factors that might be affecting the resilience and mental health among young people. It also provides original psycholinguistic studies of popular media concepts associated with these issues including: “the achievement generation”, “pathological perfection” and “the good girl syndrome”. Deconstructing Scandinavia’s “Achievement Generation” presents an engaging contribution to key debates around therapeutic culture and society in the 21st century. It will appeal to students and scholars of critical and social psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy; as well as to those working in education, social work and mental health.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ole Jacob Madsen ,  Diane Oatley
Publisher:   Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Imprint:   Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Edition:   1st ed. 2021
Weight:   0.529kg
ISBN:  

9783030725549

ISBN 10:   3030725545
Pages:   300
Publication Date:   13 April 2021
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - IntroductionWhat’s new?. 8 How are we, really?. 9 The circle and the line. 11 Left and right 12 A diagnosis for us – a diagnosis for you. 13 The organization of this book. 14 Chapter 2 - The Pathologies of Modernity. 16 Nietzsche’s last human. 17 Marx’s alienation. 18 Durkheim’s anomie. 18 Weber’s iron cage. 19 Freud’s discontentment within culture. 20 Adorno and Horkheimer’s Enlightenment 22 Fromm’s contentment in culture. 22 Rieff’s therapeutic turn. 24 Erikson’s identity crisis. 25 Mitscherlich’s fatherlessness. 25.......................................... Conclusion: the tragic view of life. 26 Chapter 3 - The Pathologies of Late Modernity. 28 Ziehe’s society of choices. 29 Beck’s individualization. 29 Bauman’s liquid modernity. 30 Rosa’s social acceleration. 30 We are not thriving in late capitalism.. 32 Dufour’s anthropological mutation. 33 The market as a new “God”. 34 Between the guilt and the shame. 36 Failure to thrive in the new millennium.. 37 Conclusion. 41 Chapter 4 - Young, Privileged and Sick. 43 Illness experiences from life in late modernity. 45 Norway: “I get so afraid of missing out on myself.”. 45 The road to depression. 46 Self-realization’s exhausting downside. 49 Optimization of the self. 51 Sweden: “You should really make the most of what you’ve received.”. 53 Denmark: “You bloody well better perform well in this society, right?”. 54 Where are we now?. 55 Somewhere over the rainbow.. 57 Conclusion. 58 Chapter 5 - Youth Under Pressure. 60 Suicide in Norway. 61 Suicide among young people. 61 Suicide internationally. 62 Suicide and psychological disorders. 63 Psychological disorders and complaints. 63 Psychological complaints in young people. 65 Why the increase in the reporting of psychological complaints?. 67 Which group of young people is hardest hit?. 68 Use of medication. 69 Self-harm.. 70 Externalising behaviours. 71 The new digital existence. 73 Generational differences. 75 Conclusion. 78 Chapter 6 - Social Representations. 79 The achievement society. 79 The achievement generation. 85 Good girl 90 The good girl – a media history. 91 The good girl syndrome. 93 Conclusion. 101 Chapter 7 - Self-fulfilling Prophecies. 103 The problem without a name. 105 When the meritocracy came to Norway. 108 Finally somebody who understands us. 110 Proceed with caution. 113 Students provide a causal explanation. 113 Identifying with the research. 114 Talking about it 115 Conclusion. 116 Chapter 8 - The Paradox of Health. 117 Cultural Oblivion. 118 Scientific myths. 119 British resistance. 120 How does infection occur?. 122 The illness epidemic in Sweden. 125 Reaping as we sow.. 126 Professional whistleblowing systems. 129 Double reflexivity. 131 Conclusion. 134 Chapter 9 - Conclusion. 136 Summing up the book. 137 The answer is served. 138 The unbearable distortion of the media society. 139 Media templates. 139 Media favouritism.. 141 Skewed reporting. 141 The Reality 2.0. 143 The generation label 143 Wanted: “The stagnation generation”. 144 Left-wing media?. 145 What must be done?. 146 A good enough society. 146 Different medicine. 147 The disadvantaged among us. 147 We need to talk about it 148 Life sucks. 149 Existentialism, where did you go in the midst of all the chaos?. 150 To the root of the problem.. 151 Silence is golden. 152 Nothing new under the sun – the youth of the past 153 Don’t speak – the young people of today. 154 Generation Screwed – the young people of the future. 156 Conclusion: overloading “young people”. 158 References. 161

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Author Information

Ole Jacob Madsen is Professor of Cultural and Community Psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway. His previous works include: The Therapeutic Turn: How Psychology Altered Western Culture (2014), Optimizing the Self: Social Representations of Self-Help (2015) and The Psychologization of Society: On the Unfolding of the Therapeutic in Norway (2018) and The Routledge International Handbook of Global Therapeutic Cultures (2020).

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