Synthesis: Vulnerability in Context

AbstractVulnerability lies in the articulation of different levels. Constraints or opportunities, resources or stressors to people’ lives unfold at the intersection of micro-individual processes and macro-structural levels during the life course. This section explores five directions through which LIVES addresses these interactions across different meso-level contexts: (1) Vandecasteele and colleagues explain how socio-economic inequalities are structured across neighborhoods and communities, emphasising the importance of geographical contexts; (2) Hoffman and colleagues study inequalities in mental health by considering people’s relational contexts and the interaction between their networks and their social identities; (3) Bonvin and colleagues explain how the implementation of social policies depends on the functioning of organisations and the working conditions of those social agents who are in contact with vulnerable groups; (4) Burton-Jeangros and Vagnoli look at how the vulnerability of HIV-positive women is influenced and negotiated within medical and institutional contexts; (5) Rossier and colleagues focus on the importance of the family context and the structure of opportunities and constraints it provides during the life course. Together, looking at urban, relational and organisational contexts, these studies show important facets of vulnerability at the meso level.