“I just want a normal life with a good education”: Future expectations and goals in education and employment expressed by delinquent young females

Context

In Sweden, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is 15 years and there are distinct sentencing options for young offenders. Youth service is a penalty option for young offenders identified as having minimal “special care needs” (Brå, 2011). In the Swedish juvenile justice context, “special care needs” refer to assessed criminogenic (e.g. the nature and severity of the offense, including factors such as the likelihood of reoffending and the individual’s criminal history) and psychosocial needs requiring more intensive interventions (e.g. institutional care, substance abuse treatment, or other mental health interventions; Lappi-Seppälä, 2018). Youth service is typically reserved for young offenders assessed as presenting low risk of recidivism and limited need for structured therapeutic or custodial measures. The penalty involves unpaid work coupled with a rehabilitative component aimed at encouraging reflection and developing strategies to prevent future criminal behavior (Swedish Government, 2006). In this study, in line with previous research (e.g. Azad and Carlsson, 2026), the term “limited delinquency” refers to young people whose offending is episodic, non-chronic, and not indicative of life-course persistent antisocial behavior. While some of the offenses the participants are sentenced for (e.g. assault) are serious in legal terms, the group as a whole did not present patterns of repeated, entrenched, or escalating criminality.

Study overview

This research was conducted as part of a longitudinal project investigating identity development among girls and young women who were sentenced to youth service. The initial set of interviews provided the foundation for both the current analysis and prior studies on identity status and narrative identity processes (Azad and Carlsson, 2024) as well as femininity and violence (Azad and Carlsson, 2026). Approval for the project was granted by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (Dnr 2020-02452).

Participants

The study involved 10 young females sentenced to youth service, serving their sentence between December 2020 and May 2022. The participants were aged 15–18 years during the first interview and 17–19 during the second (conducted approximately 18 months after the first one), and resided in three large cities in Sweden. Four reported living with both parents, two with single mothers, and two with each of their parents every other week. Two participants reported living in family homes (a type of foster care option). All participants had the same living situation at the follow-up interview. At the first interview, nine were either enrolled in or about to start high school, and one had dropped out of high school and was looking for employment. At the follow-up interview they were enrolled in their last year of upper secondary school or had just graduated, or were currently looking for employment. The crimes they had been convicted of included physical assault, theft, vandalism, obstruction of the law, and violent rioting.

Procedure

The recruitment process was facilitated by social workers who provided potential participants with written information about the study while administering youth service sentences. After potential participants expressed interest and provided informed consent, interviews were scheduled. Despite the initial contact with 23 young females, only 10 ultimately participated. During the inclusion period, 76 young women were enrolled to serve sentences in the three cities. A few of these were not asked to participate because their sentences had been paused due to drug use or mental health issues, or because social workers’ heavy workloads prevented them from providing the information. Seven declined participation, two could not be reached because their phone did not work or they never answered, and four scheduled a time for an interview but were unreachable at the time of the interview and after. However, the 10 included in the study constitute 13% of all young women sentenced to youth service during the inclusion period. Of the 10 participants who were interviewed once, only 6 participated in a second interview, as the researchers were not able to reach the other 4. Given that participants were minors or young adults involved in the justice system, we aimed to minimize intrusive contact and avoid creating any sense of obligation or surveillance between interview waves. Consequently, contact was only attempted when scheduling the follow-up interview. While this approach may have contributed to participant attrition, it was considered important in order to safeguard participants’ autonomy and privacy. Prior to all interviews, we informed the participants that their participation was entirely voluntary and unrelated to their involvement in the youth service or any other contact with the police or social services. We also informed them that their data would be kept confidential and not be disclosed to anyone related to the justice system, and that they were free to decline to answer questions without providing a reason at any time during the interview. Before the interviews, each participant gave their informed consent. In accordance with the Act Concerning the Ethical Review of Research Involving Humans (2003: 460), young people in Sweden between ages 15 and 17, who have been provided with sufficient information about the research project, are aware of the potential consequences of participating, and are deemed to have an appropriate level of maturity and insight can consent to research without their caregivers’ permission. Caregivers were therefore not asked for consent. Interviews were conducted using Zoom, the first set lasting 30–72 minutes and the second set 30–57 minutes. Participants received a gift certificate for 200 Swedish kronor (about 20 Euro) for participating. Eight of the initial interviews were conducted by the first author and two by the second author, with the same interviewer conducting the follow-up interviews. Each interview was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Nonverbal sounds (e.g. laughter) were included in the transcription. All participants’ names and personal information have been omitted or changed.

Interviews

A two-part, semi-structured interview was conducted with each participant. Part 1 of the interview used a Swedish version of Marcia’s Identity Status Interview (Frisén and Wängqvist, 2011; Marcia et al., 1993) adapted for adolescents (Azad and Carlsson, 2024). The interview contained questions relating to education and employment, romantic relationships and peers, and gender identity and gender roles. In this study, we used the part of the interview guide concerning education and employment for qualitative analysis. Questions in this part of the interview included “what do you currently study and why”; “what are your educational and occupational plans for the future,” “what and who have influenced you in these regards.” All participants were asked the same main questions, with a variation in probes depending on their answers and the need for clarification. In the second part of the interview, participants were asked to describe the crimes they had been convicted of and other delinquent acts they had engaged in, as well as their hopes for and views on the future. This part of the interview was included in the current analysis.

Data analysis

The analysis employed the constant comparative method (Boeije, 2002) based on both retrospective and prospective accounts in the analysis and interpretation of themes in the participants’ narratives. The focus of the analysis was to identify processes of sameness and change, which could reveal growth and development. This included a twofold comparison: synchronic, comprised of a comparative analysis of the themes between the interviews (cross-sectional); and diachronic, including comparing how themes evolved within individual participants over time. Cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches were used complementarily at each stage of the analysis, which is considered essential in qualitative longitudinal data analysis (Thomson, 2007). Cross-sectional comparison reveals emerging patterns, while their interpretation is achieved through longitudinal comparison. Both strategies followed five main steps (Byrne, 2022). In the first step, we familiarized ourselves with the data by reading the transcripts several times and listening to the interviews; in the second, we generated codes. Here, we identified and condensed meaning-bearing units: words, sentences, and paragraphs with relevant content. The first author then generated themes, common patterns identified in the data by shifting from the interpretation of individual data to the aggregated meaning and meaningfulness across the dataset. This step included moving from the explicit to the latent content analysis, guided by the second research question. In support of this phase, both researchers met to discuss the overarching narratives by identifying key elements from each interview. We then reviewed the preliminary themes in relation to both the raw data and the research questions. In the fifth and final phase, we named the themes and assigned the identified meaning-bearing units to their appropriate themes. During this phase, the raw data were once again used to double-check the themes for validity until both authors agreed on the themes’ conceptual depth. The first author translated the themes and quotes from Swedish into English during the analysis, and the second author reviewed the translations before the final edit.

Hopeful futures and ordinary expectations

Participants’ narratives reflected a future-oriented mindset that was “ordinary” in two senses. First, their expectations for the future were largely realistic and seemingly typical of young people their age. Second, they explicitly expressed a desire for “normality.” When describing what they wanted to do in the future, their goals and expectations mainly involved everyday things related to school, leisure, friends and family, and independence. These included, for example, going to college, finding work, getting a driver’s license, having a pet, getting a place of their own to live, traveling abroad with friends, and having a family of their own. For example, ID 6 (first interview) said, “I look forward to getting a job, getting a car, an apartment, being able to live on my own, buying my own dog. Just things like that. That’s what I’m mostly aiming for right now.” The desire for normality included both striving for short-term and achievable goals as well as a desire to be (seen as) “normal”; that is, someone living a “normal” life. In other words, it concerned both living and being seen as someone who lived an ordinary life. ID 11 (first interview) expressed it like this: “I just want to live a normal life with a good education and a good life with my family and stuff.”

“Normality” or “normal” was also described in relation to stability and self-efficacy of various kinds, and can be understood in relation to the young females’ views of things that young people their age view as common and typical, hence striving for normative development. Stability and self-efficacy were highly connected to having a stable income, which in turn was described in close connection with, or even as being dependent on, a good education and/or a steady job. For example, participant ID 7 (first interview) expressed longing for financial stability, and said further education was as an essential part of that future:

Because I want a stable future. I want a life. Well, a good life anyway. Actually. And it’s like you need that, you have to have an education and you won’t get far just by going to high school or elementary school.

In parallel with short-term and realistic goals, such as graduating from high school or finding a job in the near future, they also expressed more ambitious and long-term goals, such as getting into a specific university program and having a future profession. A general sense of optimism emerged across narratives, with participants expressing confidence and hope in their ability to find a meaningful path forward. Embedded in their expectations for the future was a positive view that their desired future was possible, even when striving for higher goals. This is illustrated, for example, by ID 18 (first interview):

I see the future as bright. I hope I finish all the classes I’m in so I can study what I want [in the future]. And I hope that in the fall I can study to become a doctor. That I get my degree [. . .] and can work [as a doctor]. Maybe have a nice family. I don’t know. Maybe that’ll happen too. But something like that.

However, their reasoning about the long-term future was also connected to a certain degree of uncertainty, involving the possibility that their imagined future might not happen. ID 6 (second interview) explained it like this:

I don’t want to think too far ahead, because if I imagine ten years from now and in ten years it doesn’t happen, I’ll just be disappointed that it didn’t turn out the way I wanted. So, it’s better to take it as it comes and make the best out of the situation.

Although somewhat hesitant to plan too far ahead, the same participant expressed hopefulness about the future: “I mean I feel quite hopeful. At least as far as I’ve thought about it [the future].”

Expressions of reluctancy or uncertainty were often rooted in the participants’ experiences of being convicted. Although hopeful that stability and normality – or as they expressed it, “a good life” – were seemingly possible going forward, they also expressed concerns that having a criminal record may impact their future. ID 11 (second interview) reasoned,

I just want a good future. I want to be able to succeed in the future and be able to live without even thinking about whether I’ll get a job and stuff. [. . .] In the future I hope I won’t be convicted of anything.

For another participant, ID 5 (first interview), the conviction had affected her choices, making her prolong her decisions regarding work and education as she wanted to wait until her criminal record no longer imposed a restriction: ¹

Interviewer: So, you’re not so sure [about what you want do in the future]. Do you feel that work and further education, is that something you need to handle now and decide on or is it something you can put off for a little while and see what happens in the future?

ID 5: Yeah, take it as it comes, sort of.

Interviewer: Yes, absolutely. [. . .] Do you have any idea when you’d like to make a decision about those things?

ID 5: Well, I won’t. . . in the next five years, I won’t be able to make anything out of it anyway. [. . .] [because of] this thing with the criminal record and stuff.

Interviewer: Oh, okay. So, you feel you’ll have to wait for that to go away?

ID 5: Yes.

For ID 22 (first interview) the conviction cast a shadow over her otherwise hopeful view of the future: [Interviewer: “Tell me how you view the future”]“I mean good, but also no, since I still have that [conviction] on my record.”

Longitudinal analysis showed that the desire for stability and normality remained a central anchor in the participants’ narratives across time. Their desire to get ahead in life and establish their independence grew stronger, and their goals for the future were described in similar ways. This is exemplified by ID 6, who described her view of the future almost identically during the first and second interview:

I mostly wanna make my own money, be able to go forward from this, living at home and going to school. I wanna move away from home and have my own life. (First interview)

You can’t just sit at home; you have to do something. I wanna be able to move, get a car, go forward. For that you need money and work. (Second interview)

While their overarching striving for normality appeared to remain stable, participants’ reasoning about the future became more realistic over time. For some, the long-term plans they had articulated in the first interview were more detailed in the follow-up interview, reflecting a growing sense of proximity to adulthood and the need to actively prepare for the transition. This development was particularly evident among those with more ambitious educational or occupational goals, who increasingly acknowledged the work and effort required to reach these goals, as ID 11 articulated in the second interview:

I’m really trying to get good grades in order to be able to go to university, a good university; so I’m focusing on school. I’d like to not have so much to do in my leisure time. I really wanna make it.

Moreover, the follow-up interviews revealed a heightened awareness of barriers and constraints, for example, concerning the potential impact of a criminal record on employment or education opportunities, but also other structural barriers such as racism. This awareness did not necessarily reduce their sense of hope but appeared to prompt a more strategic approach to decision-making, such as choosing more likely and accessible education pathways. This is shown, for example, in the narrative of ID 11 (second interview) about her and her parents’ reasoning regarding what she should study and work with in the future:

’Cause my dad talked to me about it several times and was like “Yeah but you’re an Arab. You’re not gonna have it easy with work [becoming a pilot, which was an option the participant was considering] and stuff. He said: Whatever, just choose something else.”

Overall, participants articulated hopeful yet realistic visions of their futures, emphasizing ordinary life goals such as completing school, finding employment, gaining independence, and eventually starting a family. Central to their narratives was a strong desire for normality and stability, which they closely linked to higher education and finding a steady job. Although optimistic about the future, they also expressed awareness of potential obstacles, including the impact of their criminal records, which sometimes delayed their decision-making about education and work.

Relational pathways to educational and career choices

When the participants discussed their goals going forward, and what had influenced them to make different educational choices, interpersonal relationships were in the foreground of their reasoning. For some, this entailed a desire to balance self-interest with a wish to help others. For example, ID 7 expressed her interest in socially oriented subjects as follows (second interview):

I think it’s kind of interesting to be able to see society from a larger perspective. To be able to see how everything works. Like behavior, how people work. Then it becomes more individual and I also think that’s really interesting too. I kind of love analyzing people and thinking about how different people reason about different situations.

Another example is how ID 11 (second interview) reasoned around wanting to become a lawyer: This interest was sparked both by her desire to do something meaningful and helpful to others as well as by seeing how some of her own qualities could be suitable for what she imagined the profession requires:

It’s like this: I have a big interest in arguing [. . .] when people argue with me I like to argue back, I’m good at it. [. . .] Also I like to listen to people and give advice. And trying to help those who are mental[ly unwell] or have had a trauma.

When talking about wanting to help others, participants mentioned both people close to them as well as giving back to the community at large. In general, there was a strong desire to help others and to feel useful, both to those who had helped them and to those who, like themselves, needed help or guidance. For example, ID 12 said (first interview):

ID 12: I want to study something to become, like, a social worker or something. To be able to work in homes with people who have family problems or something like that, and help them.

Interviewer: And what makes you interested in that?

ID 12: It’s because I’m the kind of person who loves to be able to take care of other people and help people in the best way. And since I myself have been through a lot since I was little I just want share, well, to be able to help others, well, in the same way I’ve been helped.

Another way participants highlighted interpersonal factors as guiding their future educational pathways involved how their immediate family, mostly parents, peers, and other role models, functioned as sources of support and as reference points in decision-making. This could entail external expectations regarding choosing a certain education in the future, but it was often more implicitly woven into family discourse or peer norms, guiding the young females’ own sense of what to do and who to be. This is illustrated, for example, in ID 13’s narrative when asked what or who had influenced her sense of educational direction (second interview):

Partly a lot of influence from family. But it’s not like talks about me going in the same direction as them. It’s indirectly, like, unconsciously, you get an idea of what engineering life is like. What medical life is like. And how my parents work with what they do now. The times I’ve gone with them to work and when they talk about what the job was like and how much they enjoy their job. That’s a lot of what’s influenced me.

Overall, the young females described having a sense of expectation, from both themselves and significant people in their life, that they have a direction in life. This did not necessarily mean an explicit educational or career goal, but rather a perceived obligation to be oriented toward something meaningful.

The longitudinal analysis of the participants’ narratives showed that the influence of relationships on educational and occupational choices remained a stable guiding force but that how they related to these influences evolved over time. Among those who had internalized family expectations early, for example, aspiring to become a doctor, their educational and career goals remained largely unchanged between the two interviews. These participants demonstrated a strong sense of commitment and stability, and their narratives reflected a lower level of exploring other paths, indicating that these goals were deeply integrated into their self-concept. In contrast, participants who based their expectations and goals more on personal interests tended to express greater flexibility and openness over time. They explored different options, reconsidered their previous choices, and often articulated a readiness to adapt their plans as they learned more about themselves and their opportunities. For instance, one participant, ID 7, who had initially expressed interest in psychology later considered other possibilities, but still expressed a desire to understand people and contribute to others’ well-being. Importantly, across all participants, the desire to contribute and help others remained a consistent motivational thread. Whether this was expressed through a stable professional aspiration (such as becoming a lawyer or doctor) or more exploratory pathways, participants consistently emphasized wanting to be useful, to support others, and to give back to the community. This enduring value appeared to provide meaning and direction even when specific goals shifted. Overall, these findings highlight how relational influences shape both stability and change: For some, family expectations anchored them to a fixed trajectory, while for others social contexts provided a supportive environment that enabled the exploration and recalibration of goals over time.

Education enabling the future

When discussing their goals and expectations for the future, participants expressed an awareness of how education and jobs are factors that can facilitate the future. When they talked about higher education, a sense of importance and necessity came across, as if they believed that education was needed in order to achieve their goals. Their narratives reflected a view of higher education and professions requiring higher education as capital. This meant that they viewed education as a necessity for having economic stability, which in return enabled other opportunities such as having a “good” life including, for example, being able to provide for their future children. Going to school or getting an education or working extra was therefore described as something more than a fun activity or something that was done because it felt good or interesting in the moment. It was rather described as an investment in the future. For example, ID 18 said (first interview),

I think here in Sweden it’s like this: You have to be able to have a good profession to be able to, for example . . . be able to have it, like, good. But also, if you want to succeed in life, it’s good to have a good . . . a good degree.

In her first interview, ID 12 reasoned that education was not only a way to get ahead but also crucial for one’s survival: “It’s important to have a certain type of education in order to understand how to fit in society and be able to survive.”

However, they also acknowledged the importance of being satisfied or comfortable with one’s educational choices and with future occupations, as work is a significant and important aspect of adulthood. This is shown, for example, in an excerpt from ID 13’s second interview:

Your occupation will be a big part of your everyday life in the future. When you have children, a husband and a family. It’s an extremely large proportion of your life and your everyday. If you don’t enjoy it, it can feel bad to regret it or feel like you chose the wrong profession.

In addition to being a facilitator for the future, higher education was also described as providing an opportunity for them to expand their lives, to be able to have more and give more than they themselves had been given. This could entail opportunities, choices, or material circumstances. In this sense, they expressed an awareness of how their delinquency, both past and possible future acts, could hinder the future they had envisioned for themselves, and how making the right choices, not just in regard to delinquency but also to education, became extra important. ID 11 (second interview) explained it like this:

I just want a good future. I want to be able to succeed in the future and be able to live without even thinking about whether or not I’ll be able to get a job and stuff [. . .] I don’t want my children to live in circumstances like that. You know, where you live also affects the child. So, I don’t want my children to live somewhere where there’s a lot of crime.

The way the participants related to education and its meaning for their life in general indicates that they are not passive or indifferent; rather, they demonstrate an awareness of the need to actively shape their futures and lives through education and work, recognizing that success is not always guaranteed or given. Their ambition levels, however, varied. Some articulated highly competitive educational aspirations, such as medicine or law, while others had disengaged from school and instead focused on entering the labor market. However, all of them expressed the same awareness of the need to be active in shaping one’s own life. Importantly, the pursuit of further education did not appear to be linked solely to current academic performance. High achievement in upper secondary school did not necessarily coincide with the strongest or highest ambitions going forward, and in some cases an element of overconfidence in one’s own abilities or circumstances could be discerned.

Over time, participants’ narratives showed that the importance of education became increasingly salient as they grew older and approached major life transitions such as graduation, legal adulthood, and entry into the labor market. Their narratives in the follow-up interviews conveyed a stronger sense of urgency and responsibility compared with the first interviews. This development seemed to stem both from practical considerations, such as the need to secure income, housing, and independence, and from a growing awareness of how educational choices shape long-term opportunities. For example, in her follow-up interview participant ID 18 described the importance of education in relation to getting older as well: “I think when you get older you realize that it’s something important. If you don’t have a profession or anything it’s really hard to establish routines in life or do anything.” This illustrates how the idea of education being essential for the future grew over time as the participants got older. Becoming a legal adult appeared to function as a turning point for many participants, prompting them to take more ownership of their decisions and to recognize that achieving their goals would require deliberate effort. Participants with higher educational ambitions, such as pursuing medicine or law, became more explicit about the hard work and persistence needed to reach these goals, often describing the need to improve their grades, plan ahead, or avoid behaviors that could jeopardize their future. This development underscores that they narrated education as a growing priority that gained importance as they matured. This shift reflects an increasing alignment between their aspirations and concrete strategies, suggesting that as they approached adulthood, they moved from abstract hopes to more actionable plans.

Overall, this theme illustrated the participants’ view of education as an essential investment for securing stability, opportunities, and a “good life” in the future. They described higher education as a form of capital, necessary not only for economic stability but also for expanding one’s possibilities and breaking past patterns. Over time, as they approached adulthood, education gained even greater importance in their narratives. This development reflected an increasing sense of ownership and responsibility, with participants linking their educational choices to the life paths and futures they wished to create.

Practice and policy

This study’s findings underscore the importance of supporting delinquent young women’s educational and occupational goals and expectations, especially after they have been convicted of crimes. Education and work were central to participants’ visions of a “good life,” which suggests that interventions should actively help sustain and develop these aspirations. Schools, families, and social workers play a crucial role in encouraging realistic paths forward by helping young women set attainable goals, connect with educational and employment opportunities, and develop concrete strategies for achieving their goals. Given the strong relational dimensions, practice should also focus on strengthening supportive networks, which could be valuable in transforming expectations into actionable steps and in reinforcing motivation during times of uncertainty. Social workers and educators should be attentive not only to academic performance but also to the psychosocial meaning that education carries for these young women, helping them align their schooling and vocational planning with their broader life goals. At the same time, it is essential to address structural barriers that risk undermining these expectations and goals. The stigma of a criminal record was identified as delaying decision-making about work and education. Policymakers and practitioners should therefore work to reduce unnecessary restrictions on access to education and employment for young offenders, provide guidance for navigating these challenges, and advocate for second-chance opportunities that allow young women to pursue their goals without being permanently defined by past behavior.