TY - JOUR
T1 - Ambiguous Agency as a Diagnostic of Power
T2 - Efforts of Child Welfare Providers to Promote Responsible Agency Among Youth Involved in Sex Trades
AU - Johnson, Laura
AU - Sapiro, Beth
AU - Buttner, Catherine
AU - Postmus, Judy L.
PY - 2018/7/3
Y1 - 2018/7/3
N2 - Ambiguous agency is a term which has been used to describe the ways in which young people demonstrate their agency in ways that challenge traditional ideas about how youth are supposed to behave. State and nongovernmental actors, such as service providers, generally view these behaviors as deviant and have utilized a variety of interventions to transform these youth so that they engage in acts of responsible agency instead. This article will explore how the concept of ambiguous and responsible agency relate to youth involved in sex trades by analyzing the case records of eight youth who were identified as survivors of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) by child protective services within New Jersey through this framework. Specifically, this study seeks to determine the views and perceptions of caseworkers related to ambiguous and responsible agency of these youth. Drawing on notions of agency, this manuscript provides new understandings about how youth involved in sex trades potentially exert their own limited power. Implications for the provision of services to youth involved in sex trades and research are also discussed.
AB - Ambiguous agency is a term which has been used to describe the ways in which young people demonstrate their agency in ways that challenge traditional ideas about how youth are supposed to behave. State and nongovernmental actors, such as service providers, generally view these behaviors as deviant and have utilized a variety of interventions to transform these youth so that they engage in acts of responsible agency instead. This article will explore how the concept of ambiguous and responsible agency relate to youth involved in sex trades by analyzing the case records of eight youth who were identified as survivors of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) by child protective services within New Jersey through this framework. Specifically, this study seeks to determine the views and perceptions of caseworkers related to ambiguous and responsible agency of these youth. Drawing on notions of agency, this manuscript provides new understandings about how youth involved in sex trades potentially exert their own limited power. Implications for the provision of services to youth involved in sex trades and research are also discussed.
KW - Adolescent
KW - ambiguous agency
KW - domestic minor sex trafficking
KW - responsible agency
KW - trauma
KW - youth agency
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85046664311&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10926771.2018.1468375
DO - 10.1080/10926771.2018.1468375
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85046664311
SN - 1092-6771
VL - 27
SP - 577
EP - 597
JO - Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma
JF - Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma
IS - 6
ER -