Bounded agency and social participation: how socioeconomic situation and experiences influence young people’s way of engaging in society

Abstract

This chapter presents data from the PROMISE Youth Survey gathered as part of PROMISE, a Horizon 2020 research project addressing the social participation of young people in conflict with authority. Building on the work of Evans (2002), Munford and Sanders (2015) and Ekman and Amnå (2012), the authors develop the concept of social participation to provide a broader, context-based definition that allows an exploration of a diverse range of youth activities. The analysis explores the diverse forms of social participation and the factors that can influence young people´s agency and ability to engage. The authors highlight the extent to which young people´s agency is bound by their experience and current social context, and assess under which circumstances those experiences can become an enabler of engagement.