Respect and anxiety : Guns as ambiguous symbols for criminally involved youth in Sweden
Hedlund, Anna LU
; Wästerfors, David
LU
and Tutenges, Sébastien
LU
(2024)
In Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Abstract
- Youth gun violence has surged in Sweden recently. Quantitative studies have described the prevalence and geographical locations of gun violence, but little research has examined how perpetrators and victims themselves experience and make sense of guns. This article draws on ethnographic interviews with young men who have firsthand experience of gun violence in a criminal context. Drawing on narrative analysis, it shows that guns are given multifaceted significance by the research participants and featured both implicitly and explicitly in their stories of their everyday lives. Guns were portrayed ambiguously, as a drastic means of self-protection that could also be used to remedy strained relations. Moreover, guns were presented as a means... (More)
- Youth gun violence has surged in Sweden recently. Quantitative studies have described the prevalence and geographical locations of gun violence, but little research has examined how perpetrators and victims themselves experience and make sense of guns. This article draws on ethnographic interviews with young men who have firsthand experience of gun violence in a criminal context. Drawing on narrative analysis, it shows that guns are given multifaceted significance by the research participants and featured both implicitly and explicitly in their stories of their everyday lives. Guns were portrayed ambiguously, as a drastic means of self-protection that could also be used to remedy strained relations. Moreover, guns were presented as a means to build a reputation and gain respect. Gun violence was also charged with a range of emotions, notably hate, fear, and numbness. Even though young men considered that obtaining and using a gun could be justified, they also lamented the shootings, especially those committed by younger, putatively naive individuals. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/5b0326b0-46f0-4bb0-9fc1-1d125cc9ae34
- author
- Hedlund, Anna
LU
; Wästerfors, David
LU
and Tutenges, Sébastien
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- in
- Criminology and Criminal Justice
- publisher
- SAGE Publications
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85202964956
- ISSN
- 1748-8958
- DOI
- 10.1177/17488958241270774
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 5b0326b0-46f0-4bb0-9fc1-1d125cc9ae34
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-24 11:01:36
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 14:15:21
@article{5b0326b0-46f0-4bb0-9fc1-1d125cc9ae34,
abstract = {{Youth gun violence has surged in Sweden recently. Quantitative studies have described the prevalence and geographical locations of gun violence, but little research has examined how perpetrators and victims themselves experience and make sense of guns. This article draws on ethnographic interviews with young men who have firsthand experience of gun violence in a criminal context. Drawing on narrative analysis, it shows that guns are given multifaceted significance by the research participants and featured both implicitly and explicitly in their stories of their everyday lives. Guns were portrayed ambiguously, as a drastic means of self-protection that could also be used to remedy strained relations. Moreover, guns were presented as a means to build a reputation and gain respect. Gun violence was also charged with a range of emotions, notably hate, fear, and numbness. Even though young men considered that obtaining and using a gun could be justified, they also lamented the shootings, especially those committed by younger, putatively naive individuals.}},
author = {{Hedlund, Anna and Wästerfors, David and Tutenges, Sébastien}},
issn = {{1748-8958}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{SAGE Publications}},
series = {{Criminology and Criminal Justice}},
title = {{Respect and anxiety : Guns as ambiguous symbols for criminally involved youth in Sweden}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/17488958241270774}},
doi = {{10.1177/17488958241270774}},
year = {{2024}},
}