”UTAN RELATION KOMMER INGENTING ATT FUNGERA” Att skapa trygghet i praktiken – relationella och emotionella processer i fritidsgårdens vardag.

Sammanfattning

This study investigates how relational and emotional practices shape experiences andunderstandings of emotional safety in everyday life at a youth centre, and how these practicesrelate to wider societal dynamics. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, this study combinesparticipant observation with semi-structured interviews conducted with youths and staff.The findings show that safety does not emerge as a given condition, but as somethingcontinuously produced in social interactions. Central to this process are relationships builtover time through presence, continuity and everyday practices. These relationships enablestaff to recognize subtle changes in youths’ behaviour and respond accordingly. Emotionallabour emerges as a key aspect of this work, as staff both regulate their own emotions andactively shape situations to appear calm and manageable.Even though staff rarely describe their work in terms of crime prevention, youth centres areoften discussed in public debate and policy, as having a preventive social function. Thefindings of this study suggest that such preventive aspects are not primarily expressed throughformal interventions, but rather through the creation of alternative social context, stablerelationships and consistent adult presence. Moreover, the findings show that youth workers’roles are characterized by a continuous balancing between being supportive relational figuresand representatives of institutional structure and authority.In conclusion, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of how relational andemotional practices shape experiences of safety in the everyday life of youth centres.