Dealing with Institutional Shaming. Narrative Strategies of Young Defendants in Juvenile Court

Abstract

The study examines the narrative practices of young defendants to present themselves under shaming conditions of interaction in German juvenile court proceedings. Based on ethnographic observation protocols and using a combination of membership categorisation analysis (MCA) and the narrative practice approach the study reconstructs, how defendants manage stigmatizing attributions within the dual framework of welfare and punishment. Two narrative strategies are identified: (1) defensive normalisation, which reframes past misconduct and emphasises present conformity, thereby preserving self-esteem; (2) redemptive remorse-performance, in which ritualised apologies function as acts of self-redemption, marking a break with a deviant identity and enabling moral reintegration. The findings demonstrate that institutional shaming structures moral order in juvenile court hearings, while attention to emotion-related practices offers a deeper understanding of identity work and broadens perspectives on self-presentation in institutional interaction.