Literature on the issue of youth and violence is usually guided by the search for correlations between family bonds, school enrollment and future expectations and young people's involvement with violence, as victims or perpetrators. This paper intends to call into question these correlations through a comparative study of narratives produced by young men and women in three different situations concerning forms of institutionalization: a) those subjected to socio-educative measures; b) those enrolled in the public education system; and c) those deprived of any kind of institutional bonds. Methodology consists of in-depth interviews based on four major topics: family relations, educational trajectory, projects for the future and experiences with violence and crime. Analysis raised relevant cues for questioning the heuristic value of attributing to school and family the role of central references for the understanding of youth experiences.
criminality; institutionalization; violence; youth