Young people in limbo: perceptions of self-presentations when being assessed in secure accommodation

Abstract

In Sweden, young people are assessed in institutions at the request of the social services, a situation that can be described as being in limbo, in a state of uncertainty. Using the concepts of self-presentation and institutional processes in total institutions, this research aims to analyse young people’s perceptions of being assessed in secure accommodation. The empirical material consists of repeated interviews with 16 adolescents assessed in secure accommodation. Three situations were identified in which the young people felt that their self-presentations were in some way in or out of their control: the placement situation; the assessment situation and the assessment-outcome situation. The youths perceived their self-presentations to be influenced by the setting (i.e., the institution). In addition, there were two parts to being in limbo: being on site in the institution and being distant from the social services. The young people’s experience of being assessed in an institution was characterized by feelings of a loss of control over self-presentation and of their perceptions of themselves.

Keywords:

• adolescents
• assessment
• residential care
• institutional process
• presentation of self
• total institution

Acknowledgements

This article is part of the author’s dissertation about assessments in secure accommodations. The author would like to thank Professor Verner Denvall and Professor Marie Sallnäs for their support and comments on earlier drafts of this article.

Disclosure statement

The author declares no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Swedish National Board of Institutional Care under [Grant number 1.2009/0017.3] and Linnaeus University. The National Board represents a public interest in youth care in Sweden.