Definition and structure of resignation (Akirameru) during adolescence

Abstract

People commonly experience the feeling of resignation (akirameru in Japanese). But there is no consistent definition of that feeling, even though negative aspects of it have often been reported. The purpose of the present study is to clarify the structure of resignation during adolescence, define it hypothetically, and examine its relation to mental health. Resignation was defined as "giving up a goal or dream when a person realizes that attaining it would be very difficult or impossible". Semi-structured interviews about past experiences of resignation were conducted with 15 participants (8 men, 7 women; age range 22-30 years). From that material, 29 episodes were analyzed with a modified grounded theory approach (M-GTA), which resulted in 11 concepts and 3 categories. Adolescents' resignation was found to be composed of 3 parts: "the content of the resignation", "the moment of becoming resigned", and "the decision to become resigned", that is, to give up one's goal or dream. The results suggest that resignation has various functions for adolescents' mental health, including not only negative aspects, but also constructive aspects.