Peer-reviewed article

Reluctant to reflect on love: A video-elicited study of youth participation in child protection meetings

Signe Steensbæk, Hanne Warming · 27 Mar 2026

Abstract

Abstract Research consistently shows that youth participation in child protection decision-making is limited and challenging. This study used video-elicitation interviews and combined Critical Childhood Studies with Positioning Theory to explore how interactions between social workers and young people shape participation. Seventeen recorded meetings allowed both groups to reflect individually on their interactions, which is uncommon in this field. To illustrate a recurring pattern of youth reluctance to reflect in meetings, a detailed analysis is presented of one filmed and transcribed meeting between a social worker and a young girl, along with interviews with both participants. The study reveals how social workers and young people are pre-positioned and negotiate their positions during meetings, thereby shaping participation. It shows how self-reflection and the verbal expression of emotions can become obligations within youth participation, and how youth resistance or reluctance may be viewed as a critique of available positions. The article also highlights broader challenges of maintaining meaningful participatory ideals within an institutional framework focused on protection and risk assessment. Overall, it calls for a shift in child protection policy and practice to recognize youth participation as a relationally negotiated and context-dependent phenomenon.