Life on the Edge: A Study of Young People's Experiences with Weapon Carrying in England

Abstract

This thesis explores young people’s experiences with weapon carrying in England. Explanations for weapon carrying in the existing literature focus on the way fear, interpersonal relationships, and community influences affect young people’s behaviour. There is, however, a need for research that examines the way these influences play out in young people’s lived experiences, which is crucial to formulating successful approaches to reducing weapon involvement. This work considers young people’s experiences first-hand and in relation to the multiple contexts of their lives. The findings are based on semi-structured interviews conducted with 51 young people in seven alternative education provisions across England. Drawing on their personal and secondary accounts, I examine the way young people begin, experience, and move away from weapon carrying. The first empirical chapter offers an exploration of the emergence of weapon carrying behaviours. The second empirical chapter discusses patterning of weapon behaviours and girls’ experiences with weapons. The third and final empirical chapter discusses the mechanisms that shape young people’s desistance from weapon carrying. Throughout the thesis, it is argued that weapon carrying is best understood in context: young people’s exposure to violence, peer groups, and expectations of masculinity shape their early experiences with weapons. Weapon carrying is also seen to be a relational behaviour, where young people who carry weapons have the potential to become isolated from their peers who do not carry; and become embedded in friendships that encourage carrying and use. Two patterns of weapon carrying are identified: transient weapon carrying and entrenched weapon carrying, which differ in their duration and their function. The motivations for weapon carrying may prioritise protection and security in the short-term; but, over time, weapons can come to represent a source of power, control, and belonging in the face of constrained environments. Lastly, young people’s desistance from weapons is facilitated by several mechanisms. The presence of peer social supports; familial assistance in the form of safe spaces and safe people; windows of opportunity for change; and identity transformations while growing up combine to support young people as they look to stop carrying weapons. The conclusion discusses the practical implications of the research and illustrates the need for a multi-pronged strategy to reduce weapon carrying behaviours that includes rather than marginalises young people. Prevention strategies that are long-term, holistic, and consider the variations within young people’s lived experiences are essential to effectively addressing and reducing youth weapon involvement.