case study of young person

Young people case studies

Case studies are an important way of gaining insight into individual young people’s experiences of custody and resettlement.

Theme: Transition to community

Adisa found it difficult to adjust to life outside after he was sentenced to custody when he was 16

Daniel had served a number of previous prison sentences. He talks about dealing with ‘freedom’

James’s project worker met him on his day of release to ease his anxieties about being in unfamiliar places and using public transport

Michael spent his 21st birthday on remand in prison. After being released straight from court, it took him some time to get used to a different routine

Theme: Trauma

Ash was referred to the vulnerable prisoner unit due to ongoing investigation into historic head injuries, following episodes of impulsive and erratic behaviour

Theme: Family

Curtis and his partner Emma both have experience of custody and drug dependence. Emma’s mum helps them look after their children

When Lance was younger, his family were supported by his local youth offending service (YOS). As an adult under probation, this no longer happens

Lee’s mum is under pressure to stop visiting him. He’s about to lose what family he has. Lee doesn’t know that yet

Shelley wouldn’t call her ex-friends a gang but some might see it like that. She had no family to speak of. As a care leaver, social services were supposed to support her – Shelley’s case worker showed her how to ask for what she needed

Tyler’s mum was scared of her son and the dangers he brought into their home. Tyler and a number of his associates were arrested for attacking another young man. The fall-out brought the situation to a head

Theme: Gangs

Rory was always fighting at school, which led to his exclusion. He felt more confident in a gang of peers

When Kaden was in a gang, he was respected and had money to spare. He’s now crime-free and aspires to be ‘a normal fella’. He could readily find a quick and easy way to ‘make ends meet’, but has so far resisted

On release from prison, Jordan required education or employment, housing outside of gang territory and support to comply with his licence agreement

Due to gang affiliation, Daniel was forbidden to return to his home area. His project worker introduced him to his new home town and helped him to establish tentative roots

While serving a custodial sentence, Aidan resolved to change his behaviour and “get out of the gang”. Once released, a resettlement project supported his choice

Theme: Diversity

Andrew has benefited from culturally appropriate counselling, advocacy and support and a multi-agency approach to his resettlement needs

Jason, from the Travellers’ community, arrived at HMP Ford unable to read and write. A culturally competent intervention helped him to keep in touch with his family

In prison, Faarooq met Muslims who, like him, had “trouble with the idea of citizenship”. Support in the community has shown Faarooq that he can “be a Muslim and a British Citizen and be proud of both”

Kwame, a Muslim of West Indian heritage, was offered a choice of resettlement projects; one reflected his interest in sport and fitness. When out jogging in the park with his case worker, Kwame opened up about his life, experiences, and hopes for the future

Peter is Black British, but never felt that he ‘fitted in’ or belonged. By the time he was 23, he had spent seven years of his life in custody. Peter has not been reconvicted in almost two years, and attributes much of his progress to his mentor

Lisa’s desire to use her time in custody positively and take part in education enabled her to secure employment upon release. Her relationship with prison staff and positive attitude led her to be deemed suitable for release on temporary licence (ROTL) that helped secure her qualifications and employment

Concerns about the high risk of harm relating to Jon’s gang-affiliation meant that he needed to be relocated upon release.

After being relocated upon release from prison because of his gang-association, Aaron felt lonely and isolated. He needed through the gate support to help him through this challenging time.

Would Jake fall back on his previous bad ways while living in a hostel?

“The first two weeks is the test. [It] proves whether someone is going to re-offend or not.”

How Kayleigh overcame her uncomfortable feelings after being released from custody

Theme: Young women and girls

After being released on temprorary license, Linda knew what she wanted – she just didn’t know how to achieve her goal. Linda’s mentor helped her make the necessary practical steps to achieve her dream of going to univeristy.

Sarah was shy and found it hard to trust people after having been let down frequently in the past. After her release from prison, a mentor slowly gained her trust by attending dance classes with her, and helped her with job and grant applications. Sara has since had a number of interviews.

After being granted release on temporary licence from her prison sentence, Dina used the opportunity to meet with her mentor and work to create personal goals which have helped turn her life around.

Adam has ADHD. His home life had been particularly difficult and traumatic. When he was released from Youth Offenders he needed a high level of support and encouragement in order to turn his life around.

Ches had an emotionally traumatic upbringing. His offending behaviour began when he was 13 years old. He has ADHD and has found it difficult to resist peer pressure

Darren grew up in an environment where committing crime was something to aspire to. The local Police classed him as a Priority Prolific Offender or PPO. With time and effort he managed to completely change the way that he led his life and is now working full-time and is crime free.

Jack’s persistent offending was connected to his misuse of drugs and the lifestyle that accompanied him on a modern housing estate. He is trying to make a break with his past and find full-time training and employment.

Jason witnessed drug-taking by his parents from an early age. On release from custody he had a restrictive curfew in addition to high intensive supervision at the YOT. He faced problems with finding a place to live and his paranoia and poor mental health didn’t make it easy for him to live in a hostel-type environment in the meantime.

Katy’s troubled home life led her to develop a significant drug habit which quickly developed into an addiction. Katy witnessed the violent death of her boyfriend. She began to get more and more involved in criminal activity in order to buy the drugs she needed to block out the emotional hurt and associated bad memories.

Martin formed a bond with the YIF resettlement team which was helped by them bringing him some lunch on the day of his release from YOI. He tried hard to engage in the programme of activities that was provided. Progress was gradual, however he managed to deal with some of the issues which had previously been a problem in his life.

Matthew had an extensive criminal history when he was referred to the YIF project via Probation. He had a history of mental problems which included self-harm. He admits that his crimes were often committed under the influence of alcohol, although accessing the support services that he needed was often the biggest problem that he faced in terms of not reoffending.

When Petey was seven years old his substance misusing father used to give him amphetamines which made it difficult for him to concentrate at school. As he got older, Petey spent time living in care and later on he spent time in custody for violent offences. Eventually he became homeless whilst also suffering from psychiatric illness.

Sean drifted into criminal behaviour with a group of his friends. After he left school he was dealing drugs and he thought that he wouldn’t get caught. After serving a custodial sentence he became involved with the YIF project and within a year was a peer mentor and role model for others.

Steven was considered to be at medium risk of reoffending when he was released from his first custodial sentence. Without a strong network of family and friends, he found resettlement quite difficult. In addition, Steven struggled with substance misuse and mental health problems.

Wayne came out of YOI and went straight into a job that had been organised for him by the YOT. After this particular work had dried up Wayne was able to get involved with a bike project which led to his participation in the Coast to Coast race for charity. He has not reoffended and has become involved with some peer mentoring.

• Trauma (19)
• Young women and girls (15)
• Transition to community (15)
• Engaging young people (11)
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Resettlement of young offenders: informing practice, improving outcomes

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Case Studies

A key purpose of  ERIC  is to share stories, experiences and learning about ethical issues and concerns that shape  research  involving  children  and  young people . Case studies have been contributed by  researchers , using their own words, to assist others to reflect critically on some of the more difficult and contested ethical issues they may encounter. These case studies which are from diverse international contexts and different research paradigms highlight the processes that can be engaged in developing ethical thinking and improving ethical practice in research with children .  Researchers  are invited to consider these case studies in light of their own experience and context. Please submit your expression of interest using the form at the bottom of this page.

Positioning families as co-researchers at the museum: How do we see and hear the voices of parents and children? By Nicola Wallis

You can download this case study as a pdf here. Positioning young children as co-researchers seeks to elevate their voice, interests and power in research processes. However, there are added tensions when

Embracing the embarrassment: Potential of seemingly unsuccessful research interactions for critical professional development. By Katrin Velten & Julia Höke

You can download this case study as a pdf here. When children participate in research, particularly research conducted with or by children, a key goal is to authentically represent their viewpoints. Striving

‘Your life looks like a fairytale’ : Challenges in building rapport with children and youth in contexts of protracted conflict. By Cadhla Fiona o’Sullivan

You can download this case study as a pdf here. My PhD research, titled ‘Artisans of Peace’, was conducted in the post conflict environment of Bogotá, Colombia. It consisted of an Arts

Developing an ethical and reflexive mindset in emerging childhood researchers. By Daniella Bendo and Paige Sheridan

You can download this case study as a pdf here. As thinking and practice has grown around ethical research involving children, so too has the need to train and equip new researchers

Navigating disability identity and language in research involving children and young people. By Fathimath Shiraani

You can download this case study as a pdf here. Despite contemporary tourism research being more inclusive of previously neglected groups, the views of children with disability are still largely absent, reflecting

Interviewing young people on sensitive topics: An iterative approach. By Tim Moore, Jodi Death & Steven Roche

You can download this case study as pdf here. In 2015, a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was established to understand the nature and extent of sexual abuse

Incidental brain findings in neuroimaging research. By Sebastián J. Lipina

You can download this ERIC case study as a pdf in English, français, español, 한국어, Türkçe and Bahasa Indonesia. Incidental brain findings (IBFs) are brain abnormalities with no outward symptoms that are

Immediacy of fieldwork in participatory research with children in precarious contexts. By Tatek Abebe

You can download this case study as a pdf here. Conducting participatory fieldwork with children can result in a researcher becoming involved in their lives more broadly, blurring the lines around the

But, what is a researcher?: Supporting informed consent with young children. By Laura Benton and Julia Truscott

You can download this case study as a pdf here. It is now common practice to seek children’s own consent for research participation, alongside (usually) that of a parent or guardian. This

Using the Narrative Approach to informed consent to empower young children and their educators

You can download this case study as a pdf here. Conducting research with young children is a complex process with many stakeholders and ethical considerations to navigate. One of the most enduring

Negotiating confidentiality, privacy and consent in focus groups with children and young people. By Tim Moore

You can download this case study as a pdf here. In 2015, the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse contracted us to complete a study to understand what

Obtaining informed and voluntary consent in a group context. By Muireann Ní Raghallaigh & Robbie Gilligan

You can download this ERIC case study as a pdf in English, français, español, 한국어, Türkçe and Bahasa Indonesia. In designing a doctoral research study of the experiences of unaccompanied/ separated asylum

Communicating with gatekeepers in UK educational settings. By Alice Little

You can download this case study as a pdf here. In the Spring of 2022 I joined a team of researchers exploring issues surrounding school toilet use in English schools. The project

Maintaining confidentiality of responses and preventing social desirability bias with an innovative method: The polling booth in research on early marriage, including child marriage. By Urvashi Wattal & Angela Chaudhuri

You can download this ERIC case study as a pdf in English, français, español, 한국어, Türkçe and Bahasa Indonesia. An impact evaluation , funded by the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), of

Interviewing children with disability in the presence of a parent. By Berni Kelly

You can download this ERIC case study as a pdf in English, français, español, 한국어, Türkçe and Bahasa Indonesia. Traditionally, social researchers expected parents or other adults to act as proxies for

Child protection and confidentiality: Surveying children’s experiences of violence, abuse and neglect. By Lorraine Radford

You can download this ERIC case study as a pdf in English, français, español, 한국어, Türkçe and Bahasa Indonesia. In 2008 the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)

Peer research and young people in and leaving out-of-home care. By Clare Lushey and Emily R. Munro

You can download this ERIC case study as a pdf in English, français, español, 한국어, Türkçe and Bahasa Indonesia. Care Matters: Time for Change (Department for Education and Skills, 2007) identified the

Research ethics committee conditions: Ethical challenges of researching with poor communities in Malawi. By Elsbeth Robson

You can download this case study as a pdf here. As an international academic team we have been engaged with researching African household and young people ’s livelihood trajectories in a Malawian village

Ethical considerations when using incentives in youth research. By Kathryn Seymour

You can download this ERIC case study as a pdf in English, français, español, 한국어, Türkçe and Bahasa Indonesia. The Queensland Youth Development Research Project (YDRP) used questionnaires to explore the role

Reciprocity in participatory research with children in precarious contexts. By Tatek Abebe

You can download this case study as a pdf here. This case study draws on fieldwork encounters when undertaking research on childhood in precarious contexts in Ethiopia. This research involved children who

Payments to young researchers in Malawi. By Elsbeth Robson, Alister Munthali, Gina Porter & Kate Hampshire

During a research project on children’s transport and mobility in sub-Saharan Africa young people, (mostly under 18 years old) were invited from secondary schools in Malawi, Ghana and South Africa, to train

Payment in different contexts: How can payment reflect local considerations? By Virginia Morrow

You can download this ERIC case study as a pdf in English, français, español, 한국어, Türkçe and Bahasa Indonesia. Young Lives is an international study of childhood poverty, involving 12,000 children growing

Expression of Interest to Contribute A Case Study

The purpose of the case studies is to share examples of the kinds of ethical challenges we encounter in our research involving children, the ways we navigate these, the choices we make and the reflections we engage in. The case studies are intended to stimulate thinking and provide ideas for others who encounter similar issues.

Please complete the following form if you wish to express interest in contributing a case study.

The ERIC website emerged primarily through a collaboration between the Centre for Children and Young People at Southern Cross University, Australia, and UNICEF’s Office of Research, Innocenti. The website content is based on the following publication: Graham, A., Powell, M.A., Taylor, N., Anderson, D. & Fitzgerald, R. (2013). Ethical Research Involving Children. UNICEF: Florence. (Available in  English ,  français ,  español ,  한국어 ,  Türkçe  and  Bahasa Indonesia ).

All case studies, blogs posts, photos and library material remain the property of the cited author or publisher.

Other website content is licensed under a Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( CC-BY licence ) © UNICEF 2022. Subsequent website updates are undertaken by the ERIC team at Southern Cross University in line with this license. Questions can be directed to [email protected].

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Case study: Working with young people

This resource is from the Scale-Up toolkit and should be used in conjunction with the other resources. You can access the Scale-Up toolkit here .

This case study shows how building a trusting relationship with a young person can help to build safety in their friendships and community. It started in a meeting, where workers talked about a group of young people they were worried about. One of the young people they talked about was Asif, a 14 year old boy. The workers were worried that he was being criminally exploited by older adults. Asif had been arrested with a large amount of drugs. They were worried because it was a lot of drugs and they thought he might be being exploited to sell them.

This case study discusses how building a trusting relationships with young people can increase their safety within their community and friendship groups.

Case study: Working with young people . 1st June 2022. Scale-Up Toolkit

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