RESEARCH ARTICLE Health and Masculinities Shaped by Agency within Structures among Young Unemployed Men in a Northern Swedish Context

Aim The aim of our paper was to explore expressions of life choices and life chances (aspects of agency within structures) related to power and experiences of health among early unem-ployed adolescent young men during the transition period to adulthood. These expressions of agency within structure were interpreted in the light of Cockerham’s Health Lifestyles Theory. Furthermore, social constructions of masculinities were addressed in our analysis. Methods Repeated interviews with ten young men in a cohort of school leavers were analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Results and Discussion Cockerham’s model was useful for interpreting our findings and we found disposition to act to be a crucial theoretical tool to capture the will and intentions of participants in relation to health. We developed the model in the following ways: structure and socialization were vi-sualized as surrounding the whole model. Analyses of what enhances or restricts power ar