Between diverging discourses of the child: juveniles’ self-construction in coercive residential care

Abstract

Based on a qualitative study, this article explores how Norwegian juveniles construct themselves through stories of everyday life in coercive residential care and how this is related to diverging discourses of the child’s status in society. The findings reveal two dominant positions of identification—the autonomy position and the responsibility position—which are discussed as made possible by the child-as-citizen discourse. The article argues that juveniles self-constructions primarily contrast but also are intervened with the dominant discourse of the vulnerable child in social work. The article concludes that recognising juveniles’ in residential care as citizens implies a critical evaluation of practices inherent in the discourse of the vulnerable child.