Details
The Youth Endowment Fund has published the first systematic review of UK-based qualitative research exploring the experiences of children and young people (‘CYP’) involved in, or at risk of, serious violence.
Key Findings
The review screened over 9,000 papers and identified 42 qualifying studies conducted across a range of settings, including schools, custodial settings, prisons, community centres, children's homes and youth clubs. The synthesis highlighted five key narratives that frequently characterise the experience of CYP at risk of, or involved in, serious violence. These were:
Difficult Lives
The review identified that adverse childhood experiences, including trauma, poverty, family history, environmental restrictions and social exclusion, can result in low social connection and aspiration. This can cause expressive and reactive violence, driven by a combination of anger, apathy, protection, and desire for social justice.
Hypermasculinity
The review found that marginalised young men can turn to hypermasculinity as a means to building status and identity and forming relationships with peers. The review noted that whilst this narrative is primarily performed by men, women are also drawn into and affected by these dynamics.
Financial Reward
In the absence of legitimate economic opportunity, and faced with poor academic and other achievements, some CYP turn to criminal enterprise and the use of violence to secure financial reward and independence. This is perceived as an ‘easier’ route to acquire status, independence and financial security.
Definitions of “at risk”
The boundary between being “at risk” and actively involved in serious youth violence is fluid and context-dependent, shaped by environmental factors and the company a CYP keeps. For example, CYP are more likely to get involved in violence when with peers in unsupervised settings as opposed to when they are in structured settings like school.
Towards Desistance
Moving away from violence is a complex, relational process. CYP value prevention-focused strategies that build on existing strengths, reinforce pro-social bonds, create safe spaces and allow room for personal reflection and growth.
The review highlights important structural and systemic themes. CYP described a sense of abandonment by societal institutions, with poverty, systemic racism and the failures of health, education, social care and criminal justice systems shaping their trajectories. Punitive approaches to youth offending were reported to exacerbate feelings of futility and injustice, particularly among those who already feel marginalised and emasculated. Separately, children from minority ethnic backgrounds often reported being unfairly targeted, surveilled or stereotyped by teachers, police and other authority figures, leading to deep mistrust of systems intended to protect them. Notably, the review found significant gaps in the existing evidence. For example, the experiences of girls and young women were largely absent, and findings were often not disaggregated by specific ethnic group.
Commentary
The review is a useful reminder for youth justice practitioners and lawyers that serious violence is shaped by context – family, peers, environment and structural inequality, therefore responses must focus on both individual-level interventions as well as addressing the wider factors. In practice, this means prioritising trust and consistent relationships over punitive messaging, actively providing credible and realistic alternatives to offending where children see limited options, avoiding rigid labels such as “at risk” or “involved” which can narrow thinking and responses.
CYP consistently report that punitive, police-led messaging about stopping violence did not work. Support from trusted people in safe environments was far more beneficial.