My thesis concerned young people leaving secure unit care, with special focus on the importance of gender, class and ethnicity. My main research areas are young people with psychosocial problems, and confinement of young people. An overall theme in my research is the role of gender in young people’s lives and development, with a special interest in teenage girls and the construction of girlhood.
Inspections have repeatedly revealed bad conditions in secure care and lately an increased use of restrictive measures, such as isolation. In this project, we study the use of restrictive measures over time and how variations in use can be explained.
The research program is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Department of Criminology (Stockholm University), the Department of Social Work (Stockholm University), and the Social Affairs Administration of the city of Stockholm. The research will span over six years, starting in the fall of 2024.
This study seeks to investigate the significance of gender, ethnicity and social class when decisions of compulsory care of young people are being made. Throughout history, the control of boys have concerned their externalizing behaviour while control of girls primarily has focused on restricting and disciplining their sexual behaviour.