Socio-Cultural Strategy

Socio-Cultural Strategy

Investigating and evaluating factors that enhance social hope among youth (A study in Guilan Province)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 .
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Sciences & Researches Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
3 .Associate Professor, Institute for Humanities and Social Studies, Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), Tehran, Iran
10.22034/scs.2026.536955.1718
Abstract
This study is a sociological investigation into the social hope of youth in Guilan Province. The primary goal is to discover, explicate, and model the multidimensional mechanisms effective in the formation, sustainability, and enhancement of social hope among the province's youth, ensuring that the complex relationships and interactions between these various factors are identified and analyzed. Adopting a qualitative approach utilizing grounded theory methodology, data were collected through 21 semi-structured in-depth interviews with young adults aged 18 to 35. The central research question focuses on identifying factors that strengthen social hope and their interactive relationship within its overall structure. Data analysis, conducted via a three-stage coding process (open, axial, and selective), resulted in the comprehensive identification and analysis of key reinforcing factors across five principal dimensions: individual (e.g., effort, positive attitude, self-belief); social (including justice, participation, and social capital); economic (comprising stability, job opportunities, and economic equity); political (such as transparency, participation, and establishment of political justice); and educational-media (e.g., dissemination of positive content, life skills training, and individual empowerment). Findings indicated that youth social hope is the product of dynamic interplay among these specified elements. Based on this analysis, the "Social Hope Architecture" model was proposed as an indigenous theory, elucidating the intricate embedding of these components in the evolution and strengthening of youth social hope, thereby providing a basis for future social and cultural policymaking.
Keywords
Subjects

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  • Receive Date 25 July 2025
  • Revise Date 21 November 2025
  • Accept Date 21 February 2026