Who participates? Differing perceptions of risk by young people and the impact on strategies for youth participation

Abstract

Conversations with two groups of young people in Queensland were used to explore how they experience risk. The groups placed very different emphases on two types of risk – technological and embodied. The authors argue that this difference is due to each group's position within the risk society: one group, which consisted of young people experiencing homelessness, were 'at-risk', while the other, a youth advisory committee, acted as a buffer between youth at-risk and risk society. These results raise the question as to how such divergences in perception can be taken into account when developing youth participation policy and procedure.