What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to explore how young people in secure care express agency within their narratives.

January 18, 2026Young0 citationsOpen Access

‘I Make My Own Choices, No One Else but Me’: Agency in Redemptive Stories from Young People in Secure Care

AAAzadé AzadLinköping University NRNazli RaufiUniversity of Gothenburg AQArvid QvickUniversity of Gothenburg

Key Points

This research aims to explore how young people in secure care express agency within their narratives.
Conducted thematic narrative analysis of 53 narratives from young people in secure care in Sweden.
Identified key themes including change in perspective, engagement with the outer world, and resistance.
Analyzed how agency manifests despite environmental constraints.
Findings reveal that agency can be expressed through narratives even in restrictive environments.
Identified three main themes demonstrating various aspects of agency.
Highlights the importance of social relationships and trust in fostering adaptive agency.

Abstract

Agency (i.e., the ability to act intentionally within the constraints of a given social context) is an important aspect of constructing a narrative identity. For young people in secure care, their freedom is highly restricted, which may hinder their abilities to act and feel agentic. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine how agency was expressed in stories written by young people in secure care in Sweden. A thematic narrative analysis of 53 narratives resulted in three main themes— change in perspective , engagement with the outer world and resistance —indicating that agency can be expressed despite a constrained environment and may include both adaptive and harmful behaviours. Based on the findings, it is suggested that key elements of adaptive agency in young people are social relationships and trust, as well as support of their achievement and competence.

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