How Do Young People Who Have Offended in the United Kingdom Conceptualise the Term ‘Family’?

Abstract

Children and young people’s understandings and experiences of ‘family’ have largely been ignored in research that concerns them. This article reports the findings from research that was generated in collaboration with young people who have offended to understand how they conceptualise the term ‘family’. Key themes that were drawn from the research identified that the young people placed more emphasis on the emotional aspects of ‘family life’ than on the presence of specific ‘family members’. The focus group discussions centred around the importance of love, trust and safety, in determining who should be considered ‘family’. The language used by the young people was largely based on their own personal experiences of ‘family’ and ‘family life’, which for some of the young people, was significantly affected by their time spent in the care system.