POSITIVE EMBODIMENT AS A RESOURCE FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AMONG

This article examines the phenomenon of positive embodiment as a resource for psychological well-being in youth, a topic of particular relevance amid the intensification of mediatized body surveillance, productivity culture, and standardized representations of "normal" appearance.It is emphasized that under such conditions, traditional deficit-based, problem-oriented models of body image-focused on dissatisfaction, perceptual disturbances, and psychopathological risks-prove conceptually limited.Instead, a salutogenic approach is proposed, within which embodiment is considered as a potential anchor for the self, a source of inner resilience, regulation, and subjective agency, rather than merely a zone of vulnerability or a "project" for endless improvement.The multidimensional structure of positive embodiment is theoretically substantiated, encompassing: appearance acceptance (the readiness to acknowledge one's bodily individuality without reducing self-worth to parameters of appearance); respect for body functionality (shifting focus from "how I look" to "what my body enables me to do"); developed body awareness (the capacity to perceive and interpret bodily signals within their emotional-semantic context); and critical distance from imposed sociocultural beauty ideals.Additionally, the role of integrating bodily experience into one's identity narrative is emphasized, whereby body-related events (changes, illnesses, traumas, achievements) become part of a coherent life story rather than a source of rupture and shame.It is demonstrated that such a configuration of attitudes toward the body is associated with higher levels of subjective well-being, greater emotional stability, stress resilience, more integrated self-esteem, better quality of interpersonal relationships, and the predominance of adaptive self-regulation strategies among Наукові перспективи № 1(67) 2026 1612 young people.Positive embodiment is interpreted as the bodily dimension of the sense of coherence, which ensures the coordination of sensory, emotional, and meaningmaking levels of experience, sustains the sense of inner grounding, and reduces vulnerability to psycho-emotional and psychosomatic distress.Practical implications are outlined for the development of preventive, educational, and psychotherapeutic programs aimed at cultivating an attentive, accepting, and responsible attitude toward the body in youth, integrating the bodily dimension into psychological support systems, and creating conditions in which young people can experience their embodiment not as a source of threat, but as a resource for a fulfilling, meaningful life.