„Das ist so viel in mir“ – Adoleszente Konflikte und gesellschaftliche Krisendynamiken. Eine Fallanalyse

In recent years, young people have grown up between the Covid-19 pandemic, war and the climate crisis and many of them are noticing an increasing intensity of the crisis. This perception has an impact on the psychological and social situation of young people; in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a sharp increase in psychological stress symptoms, for example in the form of anxiety disorders and depressive moods. The fact that young people are particularly affected by the effects is also due to the vulnerable development phase of adolescence. It requires the completion of specific developmental tasks, such as detachment from parents or adult caregivers, and with these tasks basic psychological conflicts, such as the autonomy-dependence conflict, are reactivated and accompanied by conscious and unconscious processes. Negotiating these conflicts requires stable relationship foundations, which can, however, be shaken by social crisis dynamics.

The following question arises for this article: (1) How does a social crisis dynamic find expression in the everyday reality of young people’s lives? (2) Which conflicts arise on a conscious and subconscious level? How are these conflicts related to authoritarian dynamics and radicalization potential? (3) After a theoretical introduction (Chapter 2), these questions are examined using an empirical case analysis through the interpretation of a group discussion that was carried out with two young people in Leipzig (Chapter 4). The transdisciplinary and conflict-theoretical research approach of psychoanalytic social psychology requires both the survey method of group discussion and the evaluation method of deep hermeneutic interpretation (Chapter 3). Based on the interpretation of the material, the focus in the discussion of the results is on the psychological significance of social crisis experiences, exemplified by the Covid-19 pandemic (Chapter 5.1.) and relationship experiences in social media (Chapter 5.2.). Against this background the authoritarian dynamics and potential for radicalization that emerge are discussed (Chapter 5.3.).