Young people who have experienced secure institutions as a result of engaging in offending behaviour are particularly vulnerable to negative life outcomes (including unemployment, poor education, mental health difficulties and social exclusion). This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of young people’s accounts of transition from secure institutions highlights the importance of listening to young people’s perceptions of this key lived experience. Multiple semi-structured interviews using a task-based activity approach were used to elicit rich, thick descriptions of individual perceptions of transition. This article focuses on interpretations of two young people’s expressed perceptions of their own transition to prompt dialogue between disciplines about implications for policy and practice.
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