“Som vilken annan dag som helst” : En kvalitativ intervjustudie om hur unga vuxna uppfattar och hanterar ökningen av detdödliga gängkriminella skjutvapenvåldet

Sammanfattning: In recent years, lethal gang-related gun violence has increased in Sweden. The aim of this study is to investigate how young adults perceive and manage risks in society. Additionally, the study aims to investigate the media's influence on young adults' awareness of risks, with focus on the increased deadly gang-related gun violence. Since gang-shootings are a relatively new risk in Sweden, there is a lack of previous research on the subject and it is therefore relevant to research further, from a risk sociology perspective. Previous research therefore contains studies that investigate other social contexts than young adults in Sweden. The study's theoretical frame of reference is based on Gidden's (1996) theory of the consequences of modernity, Beck's (2000) theory of the risk society, Douglas' (2002) "subjective immunity" and Kaspersons et al. (1988) theory about social amplification of risk. This study uses qualitative interviews to investigate unique and in-depth stories from a limited number of individuals. The result shows that individuals do not seem to be afraid of being exposed to the risk themselves but are concerned that others may be exposed to it. The results display that expert knowledge from politicians is needed, however, young adults lack full confidence in politicians. The individuals in this study are overwhelmed by the information that the media spreads about the risk. Furthermore, the individuals perceive the risks as less dangerous than they appear in the media. Young adults also felt that gang-related gun violence affected them more if they were geographically close to the events.