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Constructing Responsibility in Mental Health Policy: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Educational and Vocational Support for Young Adults in Sweden's National Strategy
Department of Social Work, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden, Centre for Evidence Based Psychosocial Interventions (CEPI), Lund University, Lund,Sweden.
Karlstad University, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (starting 2013), Department of Language, Literature and Intercultural Studies (from 2013).ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8035-3601
2026 (English)In: Social Policy & Administration, ISSN 0144-5596, E-ISSN 1467-9515Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

How mental health policy is formulated shape interpretations of responsibility and actions, making language analysis crucial for understanding its impact on welfare practices. This paper explores how responsibility for educational and vocational support for young adults with mental health problems is constructed in Swedish mental health policy. Using Critical Discourse Analysis and legitimation analysis, three key national policy documents are analysed. Findings reveal that responsibility is constructed as collective yet expressed through language diffusing accountability. While moral legitimation strategies are prevalent, rationalization and neoliberal principles such as efficiency, activation and individual responsibility are prominent. Young adults are positioned as both vulnerable and responsible, expected to participate in education and employment, reflecting an activation discourse, instrumentalizing mental health as a resource for economic productivity. Neoliberal discursive patterns shift responsibility from central authorities to local actors and individuals, risking unequal support. Despite emphasis on education as a protective factor, higher education is notably absent risking to exclude support for young adults in this arena. National policy should strengthen clarity of responsibility to prevent diffusion and promote equality. Otherwise, mental health policy risks becoming an aspiration rather than a framework for justice. Social work practice should advocate structural solutions and inclusive policies that recognize mental health as a social right to prevent further marginalizing young adults with mental health problems.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
John Wiley & Sons, 2026.
Keywords [en]
critical discourse analysis, legitimation strategies, mental health policy, responsibility construction, young adults, COMPLEX NEEDS, PEOPLE, INTERVENTIONS
National Category
Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine Social Work
Research subject
Swedish
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-112159DOI: 10.1111/spol.70103ISI: 001854385300001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105047828075OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kau-112159DiVA, id: diva2:2097019
Available from: 2026-08-31 Created: 2026-08-31 Last updated: 2026-08-31Bibliographically approved

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Rahm, Henrik

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1213141516171815 of 55
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