A Matter for Concern: Young Offenders and the Importance of Mattering

Adopting a case study approach, this research article aims to explore the concept of mattering as an alternative way of thinking about youth offending by drawing together the exploration of risk assessment practices within the context of criminal justice, alongside the exploration of the first-person accounts of young offenders’ experiences within the context of their everyday lives. Exploring conditions that influence young offenders’ perceptions of failing to matter, the article concludes by demonstrating that the need to matter becomes amplified when family is absent from a young person’s life.